Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles in SUMO Simulation Environment and Their Impact on the Traffic Flow

Planning of charging stations is becoming increasingly prevalent. Consequently, it is of paramount importance to assess their impact on traffic flow and, subsequently, their optimal positioning. To identify these optimal positions, microscopic traffic flow simulations represent an efficacious tool. Different positions can be trialed until an optimal solution is identified. The open-source microscopic traffic flow simulation tool SUMO would be an optimal choice for this purpose, but does not yet offer the possibility of efficiently implementing charging stations in its traffic networks. As part of a current research project, a novel method for implementing charging stations at their real location within the SUMO environment is presented. Exemplary locations are selected in the German city of Essen.