The transportation industry contributes a significant amount of carbon emissions and pollutants to the environment globally. The adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) has a significant potential to not only reduce carbon emissions, but also to provide needed energy storage to contribute to the adoption of distributed renewable generation. This paper focuses on a design model and methodology for increasing EV adoption through automated swapping of battery packs at battery sharing stations (BShS) as a part of a battery sharing network (BShN), which would become integral to the smart grid. Current battery swapping methodologies are reviewed and a new practical approach is proposed considering both the technical and socio-economic impacts. The proposed BShS/BShN provides novel solutions to some of the most preeminent challenges that EV adoption faces today such as range anxiety, grid reliability, and cost. Challenges and advancements specific to this solution are also discussed.

Accurate electric vehicle (EV) powertrain modeling, simulation and validation is paramount for critical design and control decisions in high performance vehicle designs. Described in this paper is a methodology for the design and development of EV powertrain through modeling, simulation and validation on a real-world vehicle system with detailed analysis of the results. Although simulation of EV powertrains in software simulation environments plays a significant role in the design and development of EVs, validating these models on the real-world vehicle systems plays an equally important role in improving the overall vehicle reliability, safety and performance. This modeling approach leverages the use of MATLAB/Simulink software for the modeling and simulation of an EV powertrain, augmented by simultaneously validating the modeling results on a real-world vehicle which is performance tested on a chassis dynamometer. The combination of these modeling techniques and real-world validation demonstrates a methodology for a cost effective means of rapidly developing and validating high performance EV powertrains, filling the literature gaps in how these modeling methodologies can be carried out in a research framework.

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This study presents an analysis of the charging infrastructure requirements for autonomous electric trucks (AETs) in a specified geographical region, focusing on the state of Texas as a case study. A discrete-time, agent-based model is used to simulate the AET fleet and consider various model parameters such as trip distance/duration, the number of trips, and charging speeds. The framework incorporates unique properties of the Texas road network to assess the sensitivity of charging infrastructure needs. By synergizing electrification and automation, AETs offer benefits such as reduced carbon emissions, enhanced transportation safety, decreased congestion, and improved operational costs for fleets. By simulating daily trips and energy consumption patterns, an analysis of the charging infrastructure needs for cities along the Texas highway triangle formed by I-35, I-45 and I-10 revealed that the total charging energy and average charging power for these major cities ranges between 443~533 MWh/day and 18.5~22 MW, with costs in the range of USD $7.74~$15.93 million for each city, depending on charging infrastructure design and exclusive of any enhancements to the distribution grid infrastructure needed to support the charging infrastructure. This data-driven approach may be replicated for other regions by adapting the simulation parameters to allow policymakers and stakeholders to assess the charging infrastructure requirements and related investments needed to support the transition to electric and autonomous heavy-duty trucking.