Electric vehicle transition in a campus environment: a case study for short-dwell wireless charging

The need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from human activity in the city environment is well established, as reaffirmed in the recent report by the IPCC. For the transport sector, transition to electric in both private and commercial vehicles requires significant development of charging infrastructure. However, this presents a number of operational and infrastructural challenges for both vehicle owners and the local built environment. Some vehicle applications present a more challenging case for electric vehicles (EV): where utilisation is high and dwell time is low, the typical operational model of gradual overnight recharge is not always suitable. This paper covers the assessment of the potential for transition to electric vehicles in a challenging use case of a high utilisation vehicle fleet within a university campus environment. Vehicle charging demand was estimated and dwell locations analysed for the fleet based on one year of historic data from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. The potential for wireless charging to be utilised for a charging approach targeting short-dwell events was then assessed. Simulation of charging cycles based on historic data suggested that a strategically placed set of wireless chargers could viably support this challenging use case where traditional wired charging may not allow sufficient charge or may place too much stress on local electrical infrastructure. The analysis conducted in this paper demonstrated that fleets seen as challenging for EV transition can have the technical capacity to be supported by EVs when provided with appropriate charging infrastructure. Key factors in the studied use case are dwell location and the ability to utilise short dwells for charging, where an overnight charging model is not possible.