EValuator - EV Bulk Charging Planner

The EValuator is a prototype which demonstrates an approach to integrated planning across several disciplines (land use, sustainability, energy, transport). It aims to encourage cross-domain collaboration by presenting data in the form of contextually presented layers and expert knowledge in the form of simple estimation models. This puts the ability to explore scheme feasibility in the hands of non-domain experts.

The specific use case for the tool is positioning bulk EV charging within an area (e.g. Local Authority), considering the impact on the energy network and the contribution to meeting Net Zero targets.

The prototype presents the art of the possible with data that is available and openly accessible today. It demonstrates how processes and decision-making can be streamlined through earlier cross-collaboration between the three sectors.

How to use it

The tool presents a two step process:

1. Narrow down the potential area using a weighted model balancing a series of factors across the sectors.
2. Undertake detailed modelling to understand the impact of specific site placement.

Get started:

Identify a potential location

Please send us your comments and suggestions using the feedback form accessible at the bottom of the page.

Current limitations

As this is a prototype, there are some gaps and shortcomings in the tool as presented. This is a brief enumeration of current limitations.

• Coverage for some data layers (e.g. Energy Grid Capacity) is geographically limited. If in doubt, focus on the West Yorkshire area, as this has most complete coverage.
• Data for Distribution Centres and Warehouses is based on a query from OpenStreetMap. This is likely to miss a series of features of interest.

Overview

The video below provides a brief explanation of the features of the protoype.