An integrated electric vehicle network planning with economic and ecological assessment: Application to the incipient middle Eastern market in transition towards sustainability

Abstract

The acceptance of electric vehicles (EVs) is attaining momentum as a cleaner alternative to internal combustion vehicles. Two of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) key priorities are infrastructure expansion and environmental sustainability. Hence, the government has proposed the incorporation of EVs into the transportation network to minimize fossil fuel depletion and energy subsidies. This study proposes a power supply chain network model for EVs accounting for upstream and downstream components. The goal is meeting a region’s power demand following environmental and operating restrictions. The power supply chain is represented using an integer linear program (MILP) model in a multi-period fashion. The UAE’s capital was taken as case study for the time period 2020 to 2030. The outcomes suggest natural gas electricity still dominates, nonetheless at a smaller degree, while near 660 charging points are required to meet the demand of almost 16,000 EVs by 2030.