The electric vehicle (EV) revolution is transforming transportation, and rental car companies are poised to play a significant role. However, integrating EVs into rental fleets presents unique operational challenges. To address these, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has developed EVI-Rental, a powerful tool designed to simulate and optimize electric vehicle infrastructure for rental car operations.
EVI-Rental is engineered to provide critical insights into various aspects of EV rental fleets. This tool can accurately estimate charging demand, a crucial factor for infrastructure planning. It assists in designing efficient charging infrastructure, ensuring rental locations are equipped to handle the energy needs of electric fleets. Furthermore, EVI-Rental quantifies the impact of rental car fleets on grid loads, customer wait times, and overall life-cycle costs, providing a holistic view of EV integration.
EVI-Rental logo showcasing its focus on electric vehicle infrastructure for rental car services.
At the heart of EVI-Rental is its sophisticated simulation capability. The tool utilizes rental car demand data as a primary input, generating power demand estimates and infrastructure requirements across diverse operational scenarios. Users can define key parameters such as required vehicle state of charge at pickup and return, fleet composition, and site design elements like the number and type of chargers. EVI-Rental also evaluates the effectiveness of different charging schedules, including prioritizing slower, overnight charging to minimize costs. By tracking customer and fleet status, EVI-Rental measures critical performance indicators like customer wait times and charger utilization, alongside a comprehensive life-cycle cost evaluation.
Infographic illustrating the input and output parameters of the EVI-Rental tool for simulating electric vehicle rental car operations.
EVI-Rental’s outputs, including load profiles and infrastructure designs, can be further integrated with NREL’s EVI-EDGES model. This integration allows for a deeper evaluation of behind-the-meter storage and distributed generation solutions like solar photovoltaic systems, offering pathways to manage the increased electricity demand from fleet electrification. Developed under the Athena ZEV project, EVI-Rental is part of a broader effort to analyze rental car electrification within the context of connected vehicle ecosystems.
For rental car businesses looking to navigate the complexities of EV fleet integration, EVI-Rental offers a valuable suite of tools for informed decision-making. For inquiries and further information, reach out to [email protected].
