Optimal Design of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Network – A Case Study of South Carolina

In this paper, the authors use a flow-based location model to develop an electric vehicle (EV) public charging infrastructure network with the minimum cost while long-distance inter-city trips can be completed by using EVs. This work is an example of applying location theories and system optimization approaches to address important problems in the field of alternative fueling station locations. Using a real-world case study based on existing South Carolina highway network settings, the authors demonstrate potential real-world applications of this research. The authors solved the real-life problem with a developed greedy heuristic algorithm. Comparison between the optimization approach and some commonly used methods in practice indicate significant potential benefit from more rigorous system approaches. The effects of network sizes and charging station installation costs on the charging infrastructure network strategies are also analyzed.