RESEARCH

Vision for the Future

To transform the country’s transportation network into a fully integrated "smart" electric vehicle deployment system coupled with a "smart" electric grid that is achieved with maximum efficiency and minimum time and disruption.

Center Goals

The Electric Vehicle Transportation Center (EVTC) will serve as the focal point for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s strategic goal of planning for near-term integration of alternative fuel vehicles as a means to build a sustainable transportation system. The project will evaluate technologies, standards and policies to ensure seamless integration of EVs into a complex electricity grid and transportation network. The EVTC will bridge the gap between deployment of electric vehicles and the traditional transportation system.

Center Tasks

The EVTC will undertake a series of tasks to achieve these goals including Research and Development, Industry Collaboration, Education and Workforce Development, and Information Dissemination.

Research and Development

The R & D program uses a layered structure consisting of technical sub-tasks leading to the final desired output. There are four technical sub-tasks covering the areas of policies, standards, sub-systems, and electric vehicle supply equipment analysis. These four sub-tasks feed into the three major outputs of specialized EV applications, large-scale social-economic implications and large-scale techno-economic systems and analysis.

The following projects are to be conducted by the EVTC:

POLICIES

1. Implications of Electric Vehicle Penetration on State and Federal Highway Revenues
   Objective: Research and evaluate the impact that increased use of electric vehicles will have on federal and state highway revenue sources. This work will identify existing laws and policies that govern highway, gas, and vehicle taxes and fees imposed on vehicles and summarize current trends and policy recommendations that may both influence the growth of the electric vehicle market and impact highway revenues.
   
2. Identify and Analyze Policies that Impact the Acceleration of Electric Vehicle Adoption
   Objective: This project will examine state and national regulatory policies to determine the impact of such policies and regulations on the long term adoption of electric vehicles. The work will include discussion with Florida utility companies and with existing electric vehicle stakeholder groups. New policies and or regulations will be developed and suggested to the appropriate authorities.

STANDARDS

3. Electric Vehicle Charging Technologies Analysis and Standards
   Objective: Assess current and emerging technologies, codes and standards associated with Electric Vehicle Service Equipment (EVSE), Electric Vehicles (EVs) and the related infrastructure. Recommend policies and best practices to advance both vehicle and EVSE deployment. Collect DC fast charger usage data to evaluate electrical power usage impact.
   
4. Transportation Planning for Electric Vehicles and Associated Infrastructure
   Objective: Identify and examine transportation infrastructure planning models and related policy issues associated with the deployment of Electric Vehicles (EVs). Provide recommendations for transportation planning and policy actions to enhance the accommodation of EVs and EVSE infrastructure. Develop infrastructure planning and deployment feasibility models.
   

SUB-SYSTEMS

5. Prediction of Electric Vehicle Penetration
   Objective: Identify past values and trends in electric vehicle (EV) sales to establish a baseline of electric vehicle penetration and to project electric vehicle sales and sales characteristics within the U.S. Compare EV sales by states and evaluate the types of barriers to EV usage and the actions or incentives to overcome the barriers.
6. Electric Vehicle Life Cycle Cost Analysis
   Objective: Compare total life cycle costs of electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and compare with internal combustion engine vehicles. The analysis will consider both capital and operating costs in order to present an accurate assessment of lifetime ownership costs. The analysis will include vehicle charging scenarios of photovoltaic (solar electric) powered charging and workplace charging.
   
7. Assess the SunGuide and STEWARD Databases
   Objective: Evaluate the feasibility of using the existing software and data bases as platforms for analyzing the attributes of electric vehicles within present and future transportation infrastructure projects and models.
   
8. Battery Technologies for Mass Deployment of Electric Vehicles
   Objective: Assess current and emerging battery technologies and the requirements for their commercialization; align with DOE targets for future EV batteries. Focus will be placed on battery technologies, charging cycles, lifetimes, safety, codes and standards, and economics.
   
9. Electric Vehicle Battery Durability and Reliability under Electric Utility Grid Operations
   Objective: Determine the impact of electric vehicle use on battery life including charging cycles and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) applications. The work will identify conditions that improve battery performance and durability. Focus will be placed on providing battery data for system engineering, grid modeling and cost-benefit analysis.
   
10. Fuel Cell Vehicle Technologies, Infrastructure and Requirements
    Objective: Investigate state-of-the-art fuel cell vehicle technologies, and current infrastructure developments. Conduct comparative study of fuel cell vehicles and battery electric vehicles in terms of technical and economic vaibility.
    

ELECTRIC VEHICLE SUPPLY EQUIPMENT ANALYSIS

11. Electric Vehicle Grid Experiments and Analysis
    Objective: Provide experimental data and analytical analysis from vehicle-to-grid laboratory and building energy simulations. The results will provide means of evaluating and minimizing electrical loads due to EV charging.
    
12. Electric Vehicle Interaction at the Electrical Circuit Level
    Objective: Investigate the effect of electric vehicle adoption on the circuit level utility distribution grid for both residential and commercial applications by determining the impact of electric vehicle charging and discharging to the grid.
    

SPECIALIZED ELECTRIC VEHICLE APPLICATIONS

13. Optimal Charging Scheduler for Electric Vehicles on the Florida Turnpike
    Objective: Develop the methodology for analyzing the roadway traffic patterns and expected penetration and timing of electric vehicles (EVs) on the Florida Turnpike. The work will determine the requirements for electric vehicle supply equipment at turnpike plazas, the options for equipment siting and the economics.
    
14. Electric Vehicle Bus Systems
    Objective: Investigate the implementation strategy and the operation of an electric bus fleet and compare the operational data with a baseline diesel bus fleet. Model an electric public bus transportation system in a selected city.
    
15. Electric Vehicle and Wireless Charging Laboratory
    Objective: Furnish, equip and operate an EV and Wireless Charging Laboratory within the FSEC laboratory facilities. This facility will function as a laboratory where EVs are charged and discharged through a computer assisted communication networks and where wireless chargers are evaluated.
    
16. Electric Vehicle Fleet Implications and Analysis
    Objective: This project will evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of electrical vehicles used in fleet operations. The project will evaluate present usage through case studies. The results will be used to evaluate other vehicle applications and to determine how EV fleet adoptions could impact overall rates of market penetration and what are the programs or incentives that could encourage EV fleets.
    

SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS

17. Electric Vehicle Energy Impacts
    Objective: Evaluate the impacts of electric vehicles (EVs) and associated renewable power generation on reduction of petroleum imports to Hawaii. The analysis will concentrate on the Island of Oahu and will include the effects of number of vehicles, charging strategies, renewable energy penetration levels and greenhouse gas reductions.
    
18. Socio-economic Implications of Large-scale Electric Vehicle Systems
    Objective: Develop models to evaluate the socio-economic implications of a large-scale electrified transportation sector. Model factors include effects of vehicle and infrastructure safety requirements, standardization of vehicle components for safety and charging, electric vehicle supply and after-market economies, displacement of petroleum fuels and impacts of sustainable development (social, environmental and economic).

TECHNO-ECONOMIC SYSTEMS ANALYSIS

19. Economic Impacts of Electric Vehicle Adoption
    Objective: Examine the predicted levels of electric vehicle adoption to analyze the opportunity of using EVs as a grid stabilization tool for Hawaii. The analysis will focus on the effect EVs on the electric sector in terms of electricity generation, costs and GHG emissions and on the consumer sector in terms of impacts to gross state product, sector activity and household income.
    
20. Techno-economic Analyses of Large-scale Electric Vehicle Systems
    Objective: Develop a computer model to evaluate the techno-economic implications of a large-scale electrified transportation sector. The model factors include developing and interacting with a network of electric vehicles and the electric grid, the infrastructure for electric vehicle charging, integrating the transportation and power systems into the urban setting, studying the impact of distributed energy storage and determining the economic impact of increased renewable energy and EVs on the electricity grid.
21. Effect of Electric Vehicles on Power System Expansion and Operation
    Objective: Examine the effects of electric vehicles on electric power system design and operation. This work includes using an existing Hawaii developed model that will be validated against an established utility-scale model. The work will evaluate the benefits of optimally-timed EV charging and the requirements and costs of electric grid infrastructure to serve different types of vehicle fleets. It will also assist in evaluating the effects on battery life of battery duty cycles used in grid-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-grid applications.
22. Automated and Connected Vehicle Implications and Analysis
    Objective: Evaluate the usage and implementation of automated and connected vehicles (AV/CV). The project evaluation will be done through case studies with the results being applied to determine appropriate vehicle applications and how EVs will participate in this new transportation future.