Integrated Decision Making in Electric Vehicle and Charging Station Location Network Design

A major barrier in consumer adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is "range anxiety," the concern that the vehicle will run out of power at an inopportune time. Range anxiety is caused by the current relatively low electric-only operational range and sparse public charging station (CS) infrastructure. Range anxiety may be significantly mitigated if EV manufacturers and CS operators work in partnership using a cooperative business model to balance EV performance and CS coverage. This model is in contrast to a sequential decision-making model where manufacturers bring new EVs to the market first and CS operators decide on CS deployment given EV specifications and market demand. This paper proposes an integrated decision-making framework to assess profitability of a cooperative business model using a multidisciplinary optimization model that combines marketing, engineering, and operations considerations. This model is demonstrated in a case study involving battery EV design and direct current (DC) fast-CS location network in Southeast Michigan. The expected benefits can motive both government and private enterprise actions.