A new Loughborough University-led study will be examining the use of existing Electric Vehicle (EV) chargepoint networks to help guide their widespread introduction across the UK.
The OPTIC (Operation and Performance of Transport Infrastructure Chargepoints) project, led by Dr Craig Morton from Loughborough University’s Transport and Urban Planning Group in the School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering, will examine the EV chargepoint network currently installed in Manchester. This represents 131 different chargepoints and will involve data from 65,000 charging events.
Together this information will help chargepoint operators to plan the establishment and expansion of networks to help encourage drivers to make the shift to Electric Vehicles.
Speaking about the study, Dr Morton said: “EV chargepoint networks are very much an emerging infrastructure, but over the next decade they will be an essential part of our towns and cities, just as fuel stations are currently.
“It is important that we learn from their current use to ensure their large-scale rollout across the UK is done in the most effective way possible. The OPTIC project will provide the data needed to make informed decisions.”
The OPTIC study will run for 6 months, starting in October. It has been funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) via the Decarbon8 network.
