Charge scheduling for electric freight vehicles

Samuel Pelletier, Ola Jabali, Gilbert Laporte

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

41 Citations (SciVal)
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Abstract

We consider a fleet of electric freight vehicles (EFVs) that must deliver goods to a set of customers over the course of multiple days. In an urban environment, EFVs are typically charged at a central depot and rarely use public charging stations during delivery routes. Therefore, the charging schedule at the depot must be planned ahead of time so as to allow the vehicles to complete their routes at minimal cost. Vehicle fleet operators are subject to commercial electricity rate plans, which should be accounted for in order to provide an accurate estimation of the energy-related costs and restrictions. In addition, high vehicle utilization rates can accelerate battery aging, thereby requiring degradation mitigation considerations. We develop and solve a comprehensive mathematical model that incorporates a large variety of features associated with the use of EFVs. These include a realistic charging process, time-dependent energy costs, battery degradation, grid restrictions, and facility-related demand charges. Extensive numerical experiments are conducted in order to draw managerial insights regarding the impact of such features on the charging schedules of EFVs.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)246-269
Number of pages24
JournalTransportation Research Part B: Methodological
Volume115
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sep 2018

Keywords

  • Battery degradation
  • Charge scheduling
  • City logistics
  • Electric freight vehicles
  • Green transportation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Transportation

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