On the Collaborative Use of EV Charging Infrastructures in the Context of Commercial Real Estate

Abstract

Resource sharing in general is a means of solving the problem of infrequent and, thus, inefficient utilization of expensive or scarce resources. In this paper, we present an approach to run shared EV-charging infrastructures in the context of commercial real-estate facilities. Collaborating EV-charger owners thereby create a pool of chargers for shared use. In our work, we consider aspects of economic viability, desirability and technical feasibility as prerequisites of a successful solution. We formally prove that the basic economic potential of the proposed pooling with regard to overall infrastructure utilization is given. In order to operate the shared pool of charging points at a given location, the corresponding management software must fulfil specific requirements. Our prototype implementation that was realized as an extension of the open-source system Open E-Mobility demonstrates the technical feasibility of the sharing idea in a user-friendly way. Questionnaires and personal interviews conducted with owners of small and medium-sized businesses revealed that they would share charging stations if it helped overcome availability bottlenecks, thus improving customer and employee perception.