Mobile charging: A novel charging system for electric vehicles in urban areas

Along with the rapid development of electric vehicles over the past decades, the dominating charging method, fixed charging could not satisfy the increasing need, especially in urban areas with huge populations. Mobile charging is thus proposed to solve this problem. In this work, the concept of mobile charging is explained. The user convenience and expenses between the conventional fixed charging piles and the mobile charging piles are compared using a mathematical model. The economic competitiveness of mobile charging is also compared with its counterpart. The results show that, different from fixed charging, mobile charging helps the users save their time wasted in a charging station when their electric vehicles are being charged. Taking the cost of time into consideration, mobile charging can be more economic than fixed charging for many users. Moreover, our model analyses reveal that, under the condition of low utilization rate of fixed charging piles, the levelized cost of electricity for mobile charging piles is much less. Besides, the land cost also plays a role; when it increases, mobile charging piles could be even more economically competitive. •A mobile charging system for electric vehicles is introduced.•A demonstration project is performed in the urban areas of Xiamen.•User conveniences and expenses by mobile charging are analyzed.•A modified LCOE of mobile charging and fixed charging is studied.