A Multi-Criteria Decision Process for EV Charging Stations' Deployment: Findings from Greece

Electro-mobility (EV) is an emerging transportation method, whose charging infrastructure development concerns a key-factor for its growth. EV charging infrastructure has not grown yet in Greece, regardless of the ambitious national targets that have been grounded for 2030 towards a climate-neutral mobility. This study introduces a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework for EV charging infrastructure deployment and operation, which respects both the economic and the technical aspects for public charging stations. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was followed for the MCDM framework's definition, which used criteria that were in the corresponding literature and performed with interviews by experts from the EV growing market in Greece. The results show that the installation and operation of public EV charging stations, located in private spaces to ensure their protection against vandalism, within the urban areas is the preferred deployment approach. Moreover, this article tests a market model for the EV charging infrastructure ownership and operation. Findings show that the incentive for investment in EV charging infrastructure market in Greece, is driven by the direct investments of limited vendors, while it is not economically oriented, but it focuses on sustainability and environmental protection.

Automated summary

This study introduces a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework for EV charging infrastructure deployment and operation, which respects both the economic and the technical aspects for public charging stations. The results show that the installation and operation of public EV charging stations, located in private spaces to ensure their protection against vandalism, within the urban areas is the preferred deployment approach. The market model for the EV charging infrastructure ownership and operation in Greece is driven by the direct investments of limited vendors, focusing on sustainability and environmental protection, rather than being economically oriented.