Multi-Objective Optimization of Electric Vehicle Charging Station Deployment Using Genetic Algorithms

The incorporation of electric vehicles into the transportation system is imperative in order to mitigate the environmental impact of fossil fuel use. This requires establishing methods for deploying the charging infrastructure in an optimal way. In this paper, an optimization model is developed to identify both the number of stations to be deployed and their respective locations that minimize the total cost by utilizing Genetic Algorithms. This is implemented by combining these components into a linear objective function aiming to minimize the overall cost of deploying the charging network and maximize service quality to users by minimizing the average travel distance between demand spots and stations. Several numerical and practical considerations have been analyzed to provide an in-depth study and a deeper understanding of the model’s capabilities. The optimization is done through commercial software that is appropriately parametrized to adjust to the specific problem. The model is simple yet effective in solving a variety of problem structures, optimization goals and constraints. Further, the quality of the solution seems to be marginally affected by the shape and size of the problem area, as well as the number of demand spots, and this may be considered one of the strengths of the algorithm. The model responds expectedly to variations in the charging demand levels and can effectively run at different levels of grid discretization.