Why EVOPT?
EVOPT is ideal for planning fleet electrification projects, especially ones involving medium and heavy vehicles. Learn more about what makes EVOPT unique.
Fleet Electrification is Capital Intensive and Complex
The transition from traditional to electric mobility is capital intensive and complex with several factors influencing design, cost, and performance of an electric fleet.
Electric vehicles are the way of the future with an estimated 145 million on the road by 2030 (CNBC). Transit agencies, school districts, cities, government entities, and businesses big and small are considering fleet electrification in order to reduce emissions, reduce operating costs, and prove they are leaders in their respective fields.
What’s So Complex About Electrification?
Due to the multi-faceted nature of the problem and the interdependence of many variables, fleet electrification projects are difficult to plan. For example, batteries constitute a large share of vehicle cost and its size varies depending on routes, terrain, operational characteristics, weather conditions and charging strategy. The size, type, and cost of the charging infrastructure depend on battery size, charging strategy, operating schedule and queuing strategy.
Additionally, the unpredictability and variability of parameters such as arrival/departure times, route-specific energy usage, etc. pose additional challenges. The challenge is sifting through this complexity and determining the optimal solution that minimizes investments, reduces total cost of ownership, meets operational requirements, minimizes risks, and eliminates any adverse impacts on the electrical network.
In order to meet all of the requirements, it is required to jointly model the transportation system and energy (driving/charging) process, quantifying electrical demand, assessing impact on the electrical distribution network, optimizing the system, and validating the design through end-to-end simulations. Microgrid Labs has developed the EVOPT software platform for this exact purpose.
