Solving the ‘Chicken and Egg’ Conundrum

Story by Nancy Richison

Fortune magazine took notice of the methodology developed by Associate Professor Ramteen Sioshansi and former PhD students Xiaomin Xi and Fei Wu that looks at the optimal locations for public charging stations for electric vehicles. In the article, Sioshansi notes that consumers aren’t buying electric cars because there aren’t enough charging stations and stations aren’t being built because enough electric cars aren’t being sold.

Sioshansi’s solution is a model that he believes can be replicated anywhere. Build the charging stations in locations that offer other activities so that consumers can shop or visit tourist areas, while waiting to charge their cars.

The research was conducted as part of the U.S./China Clean Energy Research Center, with the U.S. portion funded by the Department of Energy.

The findings from Sioshansi’s report, “A stochastic flow-capturing model to optimize the location of fast-charging stations with uncertain electric vehicle flows,” also were featured in Government Technology, Columbus Dispatch, The Lantern, Today’s Motor Vehicles and EV World.