Researchers Fabio Paparella, Theo Hofman, and Mauro Salazar from the University of Queensland have explored innovative strategies for managing fleets of solar-electric autonomous vehicles in on-demand mobility systems. Their work, published in the journal Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, offers insights into optimizing the operation of such fleets, particularly in regions with high solar energy integration.
The study focuses on Solar-electric Autonomous Mobility-on-Demand (SEAMoD) systems, where autonomous vehicles equipped with solar panels provide on-demand mobility services. These vehicles not only serve passenger requests but also engage in charging and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) operations, where they can feed excess energy back into the grid. The researchers modeled this complex fleet management problem using directed acyclic graphs and solved it through a mixed-integer linear programming approach, which can be handled by standard optimization solvers.
In a case study set in Gold Coast, Australia, the researchers demonstrated that integrating solar energy into the fleet’s operation can reduce the total cost of operation by 10-15% compared to an electric-only fleet. This cost reduction is achieved by leveraging solar energy generated both on the ground and through solar roofs installed on the vehicles. The study also highlighted that using vehicles with larger battery sizes can significantly lower operational costs through V2G operations. Larger batteries allow for greater energy trading volumes, which can even generate profits for the fleet operators.
For the energy sector, this research underscores the potential benefits of integrating solar energy and V2G technologies into transportation systems. By optimizing fleet management strategies, energy providers and mobility service operators can reduce costs and enhance the overall efficiency of their operations. The findings suggest that as solar energy becomes more prevalent in the energy mix, similar strategies could be applied to other regions and contexts, offering a pathway to more sustainable and cost-effective mobility solutions.
This article is based on research available at arXiv.