In the realm of energy and transportation, a team of researchers from the University of California, Davis, has been exploring innovative solutions to optimize the deployment of mobile fast chargers for off-road heavy equipment. The researchers, Farhang Motallebi Araghi, Armin Abdolmohammadi, Navid Mojahed, and Shima Nazari, have developed a novel approach to address the challenges of electrifying remote sites with limited fixed charging infrastructure.
The team has formulated a fleet size and mix capacitated vehicle routing problem with time windows (FSMCVRPTW) for mobile fast charging vehicle (MFCV) deployment. This unified mixed-integer linear program jointly optimizes fleet composition, charger specifications, routing, and scheduling. The model considers various MFCV types with different power ratings, battery capacities, fuel range, and cost structures. The goal is to minimize total daily costs, which include labor, fuel, amortized capital expenditure, and energy purchase, while adhering to temporal service windows, resource budgets, and energy-delivery constraints.
The researchers implemented their formulation using Python and Gurobi, applying it to two case studies using California Department of Transportation wheel-loader data. One case study focused on a dense urban environment in Los Angeles, while the other examined a sparse mountainous area in Truckee. The results demonstrated that simultaneous optimization leads to compact, well-utilized fleets that meet all service windows. The study also revealed a strong sensitivity of unit cost to demand density and geography.
This research, published in the journal Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, provides a generalizable decision-support methodology. The FSMCVRPTW framework offers a practical tool for co-designing fleet size, charger power, routing, and service schedules in a single optimization layer. This approach can help energy and transportation sectors achieve context-aware, cost-efficient mobile fast charging solutions for remote and challenging environments.
The findings of this study have significant implications for the energy industry, particularly in the context of electrifying off-road heavy equipment. By optimizing the deployment of mobile fast chargers, agencies can reduce operational costs and improve the efficiency of their fleets. This research offers a valuable tool for decision-makers seeking to implement sustainable and cost-effective charging solutions in remote and demanding environments.
This article is based on research available at arXiv.