This INSPIRE award is partially funded by the Communication and Information Foundations Program in the Division of Computing and Communication Foundations of the Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE/CCF) and the Economics Program in the Division of Social and Economic Sciences of the Directorate for Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences (SBE/SES), and addresses engineering and economic challenges in developing a sustainable pathway to an electric-vehicle based transportation system. In particular, the project aims to develop transformative technologies and economic/policy solutions that facilitate a paradigm shift from individual and on-demand charging of today to one of network-switched, interactive, and managed charging. The major benefits of the new paradigm include reduced peak power demand from large scale charging, improved profit potential for charging facilities, enhanced consumer experience, and ultimately the wider adoption of electric vehicles.
The project pursues joint economic and engineering solutions based on an architectural innovation that integrates renewable sources, responds to real time electricity pricing, and interacts with consumers through dynamic and service differentiated pricing. The project employs economic modeling and optimization techniques to characterize demand and profit conditions. A dynamic model will be developed to investigate the interactions between charging facility investments and electric vehicle ownership. Counterfactual analysis will be conducted to gain insights into the roles of consumers, investors, and the government and the impacts of different economic, policy and technological factors in the diffusion process of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure.
