Cost-benefit of a state-road charging system: The case of Denmark

We examine the welfare economic performance of fast charging infrastructure investments in Denmark by comparing the monetary value of waiting-time savings from increasing capacity with the cost of investment. Waiting-time calculations are based on interactions between a generalised queuing system and a microscopic space-time model of charging demand. The model allows calculating waiting-time distributions for a given capacity of chargers, leading us to determine the capacity required to fulfil different waiting-time guarantees and their welfare economic performance. The waiting-time distribution is a function of many key variables such as the speed of penetration, future charging speeds, and battery range of EVs. Since such inputs are highly uncertain, 24 scenarios for charging demand in 2030 are considered. These are based on different assumptions concerning technology and behaviour. We find that an efficient waiting time guarantee, based on maximum waiting times, is approximately 10 min for a baseline scenario.

Automated summary

This article examines the welfare economic performance of fast charging infrastructure investments in Denmark by comparing the monetary value of waiting-time savings from increasing capacity with the cost of investment. The study uses a queuing system and a microscopic space-time model of charging demand to calculate waiting-time distributions and determine the capacity required to meet different waiting-time guarantees. The study considers 24 scenarios for charging demand in 2030 based on different assumptions about technology and behavior.