Route Planning for Electric Vehicles Including Driving Style, HVAC, Payload and Battery Health

The increasing environmental awareness paired with the rise of global warming effects has led, in the past few years, to an increase in the sales of electric vehicles (EVs), partly but not only, caused by governmental incentives. A significant roadblock in the mass transition to EVs can be found in the so-called range anxiety: not only do EVs have, generally, considerably shorter ranges than their internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV) equivalents, but recharge takes significantly longer than does filling up a gas tank, and charging stations are less widespread than are petrol stations. To counteract this, EV manufacturers are developing route planners which select the best route to go from A to B according to the range of the vehicle and the availability of charging stations. These tools are indeed powerful but do not account for the state of health (SoH) of the battery or for temperature conditions, two factors which may severely degrade the range of an EV. This article presents an innovative route planning method which takes into account SoH, temperature and driving style and selects, along the planned route, the charging stations among those which can be reached with the energy of the battery. To verify its proper operativity, simulations were conducted, highlighting the risk of running out of battery before destination, considering if the route is planned based on the declared range, and taking into account battery SoH, external temperature and driving style.

Automated summary

The increasing popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) can be attributed to the growing environmental awareness and government incentives. However, the limited range and extended charging time of EVs, along with the scarcity of charging stations, pose challenges to widespread adoption. To address this, EV manufacturers are developing route planners that consider range and charging station availability. This article introduces an innovative route planning method that takes into account battery health, temperature, and driving style, and selects charging stations along the planned route that can be reached with the available battery energy. Simulations were conducted to verify its effectiveness, considering factors such as declared range, battery health, external temperature, and driving style, and highlighting the risk of running out of battery before reaching the destination.