The Safe-Range-Inventory (SRI): An assistance tool for optimizing the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles

- We introduce the Safe-Range-Inventory (SRI), a multidimensional assessment tool.
- SRI is specifically designed to capture range safety issues.
- We use specific scenarios with different infrastructure settings.
- We revealed that just adding one fast-charging station lowers range anxiety.
- SRI can assist in planning electric charging infrastructures.
- SRI can help to find equilibrium between range safety and costs.
- SRI can easily conducted by decision makers in communes.

Electric Vehicles (EVs) are propagated as an essential solution for reducing the carbon footprint of traffic activities. One essential barrier to the adoption of electromobility strategies in everyday life is the very limited driving range of typical EVs. A dense and reliable network of electric charging stations would enable safer and longer ranges. Modern fast-charging technologies provide additional possibilities to tactically and quickly re-charge EVs, but high implementation costs make it necessary to establish a mixed infrastructure consisting of cheap-but-slow and expensive-but-fast charging stations. We utilized the so-called Safe-Range-Inventory (SRI), a multidimensional assessment tool for capturing multi-facets of subjective range safety assessments. Using scenarios with different infrastructure settings, we revealed that the addition of just one fast-charging option drastically lowers range anxiety even under relatively short emergency range conditions. Additional fast-charging options did not have strong positive effects on the assessments but would amass very high costs. The SRI can assist in the planning of electric charging infrastructures in order to find the right balance between range safety and installation and maintenance costs.