Our research group received funding from the State of California’s one-time allocation in the 2021 State Budget for the Resilient and Innovative Mobility Initiative (RIMI) to conduct research on the role of turnkey EV charging infrastructure in our state.
Role of Charging as a Service in California
Access to electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure remains an EV adoption barrier for many residing in multi-family dwellings (MFDs) and even for small commercial fleets. Innovative asset ownership models, like charging-as-a-service (CaaS), shift the responsibility of planning, installing, and maintaining charging equipment to a CaaS provider. Simplifying charging access to a monthly subscription fee may reduce barriers to EV adoption in these key vehicle segments. However, little is known about the experiences of stakeholders within a CaaS ecosystem. This project conducts semi-structured interviews of CaaS providers, their customers, and electric utilities that have worked with CaaS providers. The team will code participant responses for key themes to explain perceptions, values, challenges, and opportunities of the CaaS business model in addressing charging infrastructure inaccessibility. In addition to the interviews, the project will collect data on the economic and non-economic value of CaaS to different end users. Economic indicators, like net present value, will highlight when CaaS charging benefits different end users. These qualitative and quantitative data will inform the design of policies and incentives to accelerate the installation of charging infrastructure for hard-to-electrify vehicle segments.
