A Novel Mathematical Model for Infrastructure Planning of Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer Systems for Electric Vehicles

Abstract: About 26% of total U.S. energy consumption is used in the transportation sector. Conventional vehicles use fuels such as gasoline, emit harmful gases, and have adverse effects on the environment. Electric vehicles (EVs) provide an alternative solution that decreases the dependency on traditional fuels such as gasoline and reduces hazardous gas emissions. EVs can drive longer distances by employing dynamic wireless power transfer systems (DWPT) without increasing their battery size or having stopovers. Additionally, developing a decision system that avoids an excessive load on the power grid is essential. These decision systems are particularly beneficial for autonomous driving for personal and public transportation. This study briefly reviews the available literature in dynamic wireless power transfer systems and proposes a novel system-level mathematical decision model to find the optimal profile for wireless charging infrastructures. We analyze the role of renewable energy integration on DWPT systems and identify the framework, benefits, and challenges in implementing DWPT for EVs. The mathematical model is mixed-integer, multi-period, and linear, minimizing the total system cost while satisfying the systems requirements. The proposed model and the case study analysis in this research determine the near-optimal plan for DWPT infrastructure allocations and pave the road toward a more detailed power grid and renewable energy integration. Our result indicates that renewable energies can significantly decrease the DWPT total system cost, infrastructure requirements and increase the EVs' reliability. Keywords: Dynamic wireless power transfer, Renewable energy integration, Electric vehicles, Power grid planning, Wireless charging allocation, Infrastructure planning, Mixed-integer optimization.