Identifying and Optimizing Electric Vehicle Corridor Charging Infrastructure for Medium and Heavy Duty Trucks

Project summary:

Transportation accounts for approximately one-quarter of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In Minnesota, about 3,000 deaths are attributed to air pollution annually. Electric vehicles (EVs) have emerged in the last few years with promise to provide less noisy and cleaner transportation systems. To this end, personal EVs are penetrating the market and electric buses are being adopted by transit agencies, both with some levels of power infrastructure. However, electric trucks are still in the early commercialization stage and very little effort has been put on studying their infrastructure needs nationwide. In order to address the lack of infrastructure planning for e-trucks, this project will investigate the infrastructure needs for e-trucks in Minnesota. The research team will study freight volume and e-truck implications on freight traffic, and the characteristics of power grid from conventional and renewable sources. By developing a database of various infrastructures, energy demand and supply, and conducting geospatial analyses, candidate corridors for e-truck infrastructures will be identified and discussed with a technical advisory panel. With the objective of providing required charging service at minimum capital and operating cost, an optimization model will be developed to determine the location, type, and capacity of charging facilities on the identified corridors. Along with the optimal infrastructure planning, renewable energy sources such as solar and wind will be considered for supplementing the conventional grid. The results of this study will provide guidelines and suggestions for long-term decisions toward clean freight transportation in and through Minnesota.