Planning of Smart Charging Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles: An Italian Case Study

Nowadays, the large-scale introduction of electric vehicles requires the definition of appropriate infrastructure devices and software solutions. Consequently, the development of those systems should enable them not only to provide the necessary energy amount, but also to participate to the local grid management, improve energy quality, exploit the potential of non-manageable renewables, and support local energy district. The article describes the planning activity of a charging points site located in the area of the central Italy. More specifically, the content includes the analysis of charging procedures and events from the population of users by a local energy provider, identifying vehicle necessities and calculating their expected energy supply based on daytime and local position. The final objective of such clustering is to identify opportunities for energy management, finding and supporting path planning so that it is possible to apply smart charging and vehicle-to-grid energy management strategies. Also, the analysis explains the suitability of the charging location according to the current user charging behavior and hypothesize the implementation of strategies to both maintain user satisfaction and optimize grid impact on the local energy district.