On Optimal Battery Sizing for Electric Vehicles

TL;DR

This paper presents a quantitative framework for optimizing electric vehicle battery sizes by balancing upfront costs and charging inconvenience, incorporating new models and strategic infrastructure considerations.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive model for charging inconvenience costs and an optimization framework for battery sizing considering infrastructure and policy impacts.

Findings

Optimal battery sizes depend on charging infrastructure and policies.

Charging inconvenience significantly influences battery capacity decisions.

Strategic investments can reduce inconvenience and optimize costs.

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce a quantitative framework to optimize electric vehicle (EV) battery capacities, considering two criteria: upfront vehicle cost and charging inconvenience cost. For this purpose, we (1) develop a comprehensive model for charging inconvenience costs, incorporating both charging time and detours, improving on existing studies, (2) show, through extensive simulations and analytical models, how charging inconvenience cost is affected by different battery capacity and charging infrastructure configurations, (3) introduce an optimisation framework to determine optimal battery capacities based on charging inconvenience and vehicle cost, and (4) show that optimal battery capacities can be influenced by strategic investments in charging infrastructure and tax/incentive policies. The proposed framework provides actionable insights into the sustainable design of EV systems, supporting the development of cost-effective and convenient electric mobility solutions.