The Automated Mobility District Implementation Catalog, 2nd Edition
8/1/2022
The first edition of the Automated Mobility District Implementation Catalog was published by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to document insights gained from monitoring 10 early deployment sites of automated vehicle (AV) technology. Since the publishing of the first edition, NREL has tracked the effects the 2020 pandemic and the progress of the demonstration pilot projects beyond the initial deployment phase has generated important new information. The objective of this second edition is to provide an update to the status of the 10 early deployment sites to assess common trends of technology development and deployment. Drawing from that new insight, this report documents the natural maturing of the AV technology industry. This second edition reports on the framework of “cardinal principles” that the research team has defined for the safest and most efficient application of AV technology in managed fleet deployment within automated mobility districts of the future.
Authors: Young, S.; Lott, J.
Charged Up! TLC Electrification Report
7/1/2022
The New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) is committed to transitioning the majority of its licensed fleet to electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030. Charged Up! is TLC’s roadmap to support this movement, outlining ways to support TLC’s EV drivers, incentivize more EVs, and support the for-hire industry’s charging needs. New York City’s for-hire transportation landscape presents distinct challenges to electrification, with high daily mileage driven due to high trip volumes, drivers living in the outer boroughs and in environmental justice communities, as well as the various charging needs of industry stakeholders. Given these considerations, the report identifies policy levers and formulates recommendations to address three major barriers that currently impede the expansion of for-hire EVs.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, April 2022
6/28/2022
The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report for April 2022 is a quarterly report on the prices of alternative fuels in the U.S. and their relation to gasoline and diesel prices. This issue describes prices that were gathered from Clean Cities coordinators and stakeholders between April 1, 2022 and April 15, 2022, and then averaged in order to determine regional price trends by fuel and variability in fuel price within regions and among regions. The prices collected for this report represent retail, at-the-pump sales prices for each fuel, including Federal and state motor fuel taxes.
Table 2 reports that the nationwide average price (all amounts are per gallon) for regular gasoline has increased 85 cents from $3.28 to $4.13; diesel increased by $1.44 from $3.62 to $5.06; CNG increased 10 cents from $2.49 to $2.59; ethanol (E85) increased 57 cents from $2.97 to $3.54; propane increased 11 cents from $3.42 to $3.53; and biodiesel (B20) increased by $1.20 from $3.42 to $4.62.
According to Table 3, CNG is $1.54 less than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis and E85 is 47 cents more than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis.
Authors: Bourbon, E.
Community Impacts: Accessible Electric Vehicle Carshare Programs
6/6/2022
Having abundant and affordable access to transportation affects an individual’s ability to live a healthy and fulfilling life. To date, a majority of carshare models have been implemented in urban, affluent areas, and have not focused on electric vehicles (EVs). A variety of EV carshare programs were evaluated with the goal of identifying and understanding best practices and challenges associated with implementing these programs in underserved locations, specifically in low-income and rural areas. This paper shares the design and results to date of several of these programs, as well as a framework for designing a carshare program.
Authors: Herman, C.
Electric School Bus U.S. Market Study and Buyers Guide
6/1/2022
This guide offers school districts and others an overview of the electric school bus market. It presents electric school bus models available today with detailed vehicle specifications allowing users to compare various models and weigh important considerations.
Authors: Huntington, A.; Wang, J.; Burgoyne-Allen, P.; Werthmann, E.; Jackson, E.
EV Sales and the Charging Infrastructure Required Through 2030
6/1/2022
This report estimates the number of electric vehicle (EV) charging equipment needed to support the EV market through 2030. It projects the number of EVs on U.S. roads to reach 26.4 million in 2030 and that nearly 12.9 million charge ports will be needed to support the projected number of EVs. Approximately 140,000 direct current fast charging ports will be needed to support the level of EVs expected to be on U.S. roads in 2030.
Authors: Satterfield, C.; Schefte, K.
Deploying Charging Infrastructure for Electric Transit Buses
6/1/2022
This study is aimed at assisting transit agencies as they begin to plan for significant electrification of their bus fleets. It focuses on battery electric technologies and is limited in scope to charging technologies, designs, and choices. It incorporates learnings from 28 industry interviews completed between January and April 2022 by Atlas Public Policy staff. These interviews sought to understand latest developments, challenges, solutions, and lessons learned in battery electric bus charging, and to compile specific examples, anecdotes and on-the-ground experiences from those at the forefront of deployment.
Authors: Lepre, N.; Burget, S.; McKenzie, L.
Mini Guide on Transportation Electrification: State-Level Roles and Collaboration among Public Utility Commissions, State Energy Offices, and Departments of Transportation
6/1/2022
Many states across the country have set ambitious electric vehicle (EV) adoption goals and are working to establish policies and programs to support transportation electrification. State energy offices, public utility commissions, and departments of transportation, among other important state-level partners each have a unique and vital role to support EV rollout. This guide explores roles among state agencies and partners in planning and implementing EV charging infrastructure. This mini guide is part of a series that features collaborative approaches, lessons learned, and interviews with leading state and local decision makers.
Authors: Dixon, D.; Powers, C.; McAdams, J.; Stephens, S.; Sass Byrnett. D.; Peters, D.
Review of Electric Vehicle Charger Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities, Potential Impacts, and Defenses
5/26/2022
Worldwide growth in electric vehicle use is prompting new installations of private and public electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE). EVSE devices support the electrification of the transportation industry but also represent a cornerstone for power systems and transportation infrastructures. Cybersecurity researchers have recently identified several vulnerabilities that exist in EVSE devices, communications to electric vehicles (EVs), and upstream services, such as EVSE vendor cloud services, third party systems, and grid operators. The potential impact of attacks on these systems stretches from localized, relatively minor effects to long-term national disruptions. Fortunately, there is a strong and expanding collection of information technology and operational technology cybersecurity best practices that may be applied to the EVSE environment to secure this equipment. This paper summarizes publicly disclosed EVSE vulnerabilities, the impact of EV charger cyberattacks, and proposed security protections for EV charging technologies.
Authors: Johnson, J.; Berg, T.; Anderson, B.; Wright, B.
A Framework to Analyze the Requirements of a Multiport Megawatt-Level Charging Station for Heavy-Duty Electric Vehicles
5/21/2022
Widespread adoption of heavy-duty (HD) electric vehicles (EVs) will soon necessitate the use of megawatt (MW)-scale charging stations to charge the high capacity HD EV battery packs. While higher throughput will maximize revenue-generating operations, at high rates of charging, the station design needs to anticipate possible station traffic, average and peak power demand, and charging/waiting time targets to meet. High-voltage direct current fast charging (DCFC) is an attractive candidate for MW-scale charging stations at the time of this study but there are no precedents for such station design. We present a modeling and data analysis framework to elucidate the dependencies of a MW-scale station operation on vehicle traffic data and station design parameters and how that impacts vehicle electrification. This framework integrates an agent-based charging station model with vehicle schedules obtained through real-world, long-haul vehicle telemetry data analysis to explore the station design and operation space. We present a case study showing the application of this framework to: (i) choose optimal locations for charging infrastructure to enable vehicle electrification, (ii) simulate vehicle charging behavior to create charge demand schedules for MW-scale charging locations, (iii) analyze power/energy requirements for these stations, and (iv) optimize station design and control to increase vehicle throughput. Real-world vehicle travel data is used to generate distributions of vehicle arrival time and state of the charge (SOC) for hypothetical MW-scale charging stations. Monte Carlo simulation is used to explore various design considerations associated with MW-scale charging stations and electric vehicle battery technologies.
Authors: Mishra, P.; Miller, E.; Santhanagopalan, S.; Bennion, K.; Meintz, A.
Electric Vehicles for Fleets
5/17/2022
Electric vehicles can fulfill many daily driving needs, making them a great solution for fleets. They offer several benefits and can fill roles in light-duty, medium-/heavy-duty (MD/HD), and even off-road applications. The unique fleet environment presents considerations beyond those that consumers must address before going electric. For example, fleet managers must understand the impacts of charging multiple vehicles while maintaining fleet operations. Larger MD/HD vehicles bring additional factors to consider.
U.S. DRIVE 2021 Highlights of Technical Accomplishments
5/16/2022
The U.S. DRIVE (Driving Research and Innovation for Vehicle efficiency and Energy sustainability) 2021 Highlights of Technical Accomplishments report summarizes key technical accomplishments in the development of advanced automotive and related energy infrastructure technologies achieved in 2021 by the U.S. DRIVE partnership. Each one-page summary represents what Partnership experts collectively consider to be significant progress in the development of advanced automotive and infrastructure technologies.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, January 2022
5/10/2022
The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report for January 2022 is a quarterly report on the prices of alternative fuels in the U.S. and their relation to gasoline and diesel prices. This issue describes prices that were gathered from Clean Cities coordinators and stakeholders between January 1, 2022 and January 15, 2022, and then averaged in order to determine regional price trends by fuel and variability in fuel price within regions and among regions. The prices collected for this report represent retail, at-the-pump sales prices for each fuel, including Federal and state motor fuel taxes.
Table 2 reports that the nationwide average price (all amounts are per gallon) for regular gasoline has increased 3 cents from $3.25 to $3.28; diesel increased 14 cents from $3.48 to $3.62; CNG increased 16 cents from $2.33 to $2.49; ethanol (E85) increased 24 cents from $2.73 to $2.97; propane increased 25 cents from $3.17 to $3.42; and biodiesel (B20) increased 13 cents from $3.29 to $3.42.
According to Table 3, CNG is 79 cents less than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis and E85 is 59 cents more than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis.
Authors: Bourbon, E.