Our research team was one of 18 new UCI-UCLA collaborations started between faculty at the two engineering schools that received funding from the Samueli Foundation. Dr. Dean (UCI) and Associate Professor Jiaqi Ma (UCLA) received money to look at sustainable mobility and equitable access to EV charging stations. Public charging stations are growing in numbers to support current and projected future demand, but they’re not always convenient or reliable and can be up to three times the cost of charging at home. Dean and Ma are exploring EV drivers’ perceptions and acceptance of peer-to-peer EV charging services, which is like an Airbnb renting system for chargers. They’re surveying California EV drivers to forecast traveler adoption and use models. To better understand how peer-to-peer EV charging affects EV driver behavior, they will implement these models in a Los Angeles County transportation simulation that captures individual travel behaviors across socio-economic groups. Based on the simulation results, they’ll be able to evaluate the performance of peer-to-peer charging across several key metrics to help the nation address the question, “How do we expand EV charging access for individuals without access to home charging?”
Pulled from the UCI School of Engineering’s post by Lori Brandt.