Charging ahead: Firm-level optimisation strategies for sustainable and cost-effective electric vehicle workplace charging

Decarbonising the transportation sector is forecasted to result in a substantial increase in total electricity demand, mainly incurred from charging electric vehicles (EVs). In an effort to reduce scope 3 emissions, firms are building up extensive workplace charging infrastructure to encourage employees’ update of EVs. However, many businesses tend to underestimate the impact of EV charging loads on the site’s overall electricity consumption profile at scale. In this paper we present the results of a case study which was carried out between the Oxford Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Impact Lab and a global car manufacturing firm with a large production site in southern Oxford, UK. Drawing from Operations Research methods, we compute quantitative estimates of sustainable (CO2 minimal) and cost-effective charging strategies by comparatively assessing the value of smart and bidirectional (V2X) charging, benchmarked against the case of uncontrolled (dumb) charging. We found that smart- and bidirectional charging can reduce peak demand by -45% and -21%, respectively. Moreover, implementing a CO2-minimal charging strategy leads to -32% lower emissions while generating overall cost savings of -0.12 £/kWh. Our results demonstrate that the use of digital technologies at different application levels, ranging from foundational optimisation algorithms to user-facing consumer apps as means to collect minimum battery state-of-charge (SoC) preferences, offers substantial value in monetary and environmental terms. Drawing from this case study based on real-world empirical data, we anticipate more businesses to follow suit by actively considering the implementation of digital software solutions for managing EV charging loads as equal counterpart to the rollout of charging hardware infrastructure. Moreover, our study serves as blueprint for policymakers to incentivise firms and individuals to adopt digital technologies when managing EV workplace charging cycles which, at scale, facilitates the integration of renewable energy into the grid while simultaneously decreasing the need for substantial grid expansion.