Optimizing components size of an extended range electric vehicle according to the use specifications

Transport Research Arena (TRA) 5th Conference: Transport Solutions from Research to Deployment, PARIS, FRANCE, 14-/04/2014 - 17/04/2014; This paper presents a methodology to optimally design the drivetrain of an Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV) according to the use specifications from European mobility surveys. At first the analysis of car uses is carried out, and a process aiming to classify the car use profiles into different clusters is proposed. Clusters that could fit typical EREV use are selected and applied in a sizing methodology to design the battery and the Range Extender (RE). Using a validated simulation software, the proposed method takes into account the range requirements of the car use profile, its energy consumption, realistic driving cycles from European database and battery aging. Combined with a simple Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) model, the most cost effective solution is determined, depending on the performance required. The results show that EREVs might be an interesting solution to consider, as they could lead to a significant TCO reduction (-17%) while offering twice as much range as currently available Battery-only Electric Vehicles (BEVs).