Dr. Kontou discussed with Ari Daniel at WBUR’s Here and Now about electric vehicles and the challenges of dependence on solar power: https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2021/09/22/electric-cars-sun-power.
Tag: electric vehicles
Kontou mentioned in WIRED magazine article on electric vehicles charging infrastructure
Dr. Kontou commented on the need for smart charging management and equitable access to recharging infrastructure in a WIRED article on the Biden’s administration’s plan to increase the number of electric cars on the road. Please find the article here: https://www.wired.com/story/biden-wants-more-evs-charging-stations/.
Kontou presenting research on electric vehicle rebates disparities during WSTLUR!
Dr. Kontou is presenting Shuocheng Guo’s and her research on their empirical analyses that uncovered disparities in California electric vehicle rebates allocation, during the 2021 WSTLUR conference. Her presentation is on August 11th 4-4:45pm central. A 5- minute video on her research is available. The paper was published in Energy Policy earlier in 2021 and is openly accessible here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112291.
EV charging infrastructure roadmap project, funded by IDOT!
Excited to announce that our research group received funding ($238,415) by the Illinois Department of Transportation to conduct research on our state’s EV charging infrastructure deployment needs. Our research will identify the electrification pathways to meet 2035 greenhouse gas reduction goals for Illinois, and have a detailed plan in place for vehicle electrification charging requirements. The optimal charging infrastructure investment allocation and placement in the Illinois highway network will be presented. Our work will provide Illinois Department of Transportation with a model and report that will enable quantification of the number and the highway location of electric vehicles charging stations deployed to meet the 2035 EV travel demand. The report will quantify electrified miles traveled, environmental externalities (carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions) reduction benefits, as well as the capital and operational costs of deployment of the recommended level and numbers of charging. More info here: https://trid.trb.org/View/1862620.
Undergraduate students present their research during Undergraduate Research Week!
This year our group mentored two undergraduate researchers who conducted sustainable transport research. Tinghan (Joe) Ye from the department of civil and environmental engineering presented his work during the Undergraduate Research Week on residential electric vehicle charging data analytics and Simon Balisi from the department of industrial engineering modeled chargers deployment for electric vehicle evacuations. Simon was advised by PhD student Denissa Purba through the Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship program of UIUC and Joe was advised by Prof. Kontou and received a research support grant.
Shirley and Xi win the Pecan Street Vehicle-to-Grid University Challenge!
A team of Kontou research group graduate students, Shanshan (Shirley) Liu (team leader) and Xi Cheng, won the Vehicle-to-Grid University Challenge, run by Pecan Street. Congrats! This competition served as a great opportunity for our graduate students to use empirical data and deploy their state-of-the-art mathematical models to solve the problem of battery electric vehicle-to-grid services management. Their recognition exemplifies the broader impacts of our research that can provide answers to real-world industry challenges.
The department of Civil and Environmental Engineering covered their win here: https://cee.illinois.edu/news/cee-graduate-students-win-vehicle-to-grid-university-challenge. More info provided by Pecan Street on their solution here: https://www.pecanstreet.org/2021/04/v2gwinner/
Project on Community Charging Hubs Selected for Award by Department of Energy
The Department of Energy and its Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) announced $139 million in federal funding for 55 projects that will support innovative advanced vehicle technologies: https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-announces-139-million-funding-55-projects-advance-innovative-vehicle-technologies. Our project on integrated modeling and technoeconomic assessment of electric vehicle community charging hubs was selected for award! The list of the selected projects can be found here. Our group at the University of Illinois is excited to work with VTO to create a novel modeling framework for community charging hubs operations in an effort to support equitable access to sustainable, electrified mobility.