ACEP launches new interactive world electric vehicle map
December 9, 2020
The electric vehicle revolution is amping up. Even in Alaska, where the average temperatures
are colder than most states’ coldest, EVs are finding their place in the Arctic environment.
Over the 2020 summer, a team from the Alaska Center for Energy and Power that included
Michelle Wilber and Chris Pike worked with University of Washington graduate capstone
project students to develop a world EV map that shows temperature-based zones related to range and battery safety.
This map helps place regions of Alaska in context with other areas of the world. This
can help Alaska learn from other places where appropriate and identify where additional
information may be needed to predict the costs and benefits of EVs to consumers and
the electric grid.
ACEP, through the initiative of Research Professor Erin Whitney, has begun looking
into research questions around EVs, beginning with a survey a year ago.
Cold-weather concerns were prominent in the survey responses received. Wilber, an
ACEP research engineer, began investigating the literature for information on cold
weather impacts, especially around the dependency of energy use and battery health
vs. temperature.
It turns out there is very little information on the impact of temperature on energy
use and range of electric vehicles below -20C. With temperatures reaching -40C and
below in Alaska’s Interior, there are questions about how EVs fit in the energy picture
in Alaska.
Wilber’s recently launched EV calculator determines fuel costs and emissions for Alaska communities. The calculator takes
a range of inputs on vehicle use (daily mileage, parked in a garage or outside, etc.)
and compares the energy “fuel” costs and emissions of an EV to an internal combustion
vehicle.
Data from EVs in Interior Alaska, including Fairbanks, can help fill in the data gaps
for use in the extreme cold temperatures. ACEP will continue to gather EV data and
improve the models behind these tools, as well as investigate other questions pertaining
to the interaction of electric vehicles and electricity grids in Alaska.
For more information, please contact Wilber at mmwilber@alaska.edu.