Optimum Network of Battery Storage to Support Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure in Smart Cities

Abstract

Smart mobility and transportation is a critical component of smart cities. One barrier to the smart transportation is a lack of charging stations that can empower a huge amount of electric vehicles, especially the autonomous one. Battery storage technology provides an opportunity; however, how battery storage can serve a crucial role in enabling fast-charging stations to fulfill customer demand and providing a profit for charging station operators is unclear. This paper reports a discrete event simulation (DES) model to determine the optimum network of battery storage system considering costs and charging stations. A case study of Detroit Area in the State of Michigan is provided to demonstrate the usage of the model. Results show that lithium-ion batteries cost the most whereas zinc-air batteries cost the least. Findings suggest that a highly condensed charging station network provide higher benefit and result in lower total cost through battery units connected to a microgrid.