IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i15p6701-d1450347.html

Assessment of Economic Viability of Direct Current Fast Charging Infrastructure Investments for Electric Vehicles in the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Daniel Bernal

    (Accelerated Deployment and Decision Support Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Golden, CO 80401, USA)

  • Adeeba A. Raheem

    (Civil Engineering Department, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA)

  • Sundeep Inti

    (Department of Technology, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790, USA)

  • Hongjie Wang

    (Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA)

Abstract

As the global transportation sector increasingly adopts electric vehicles, the demand for advanced and accessible charging infrastructure is rising. In addition to at-home electric vehicle (EV) charging, there is a growing need for the swift development of commercial direct current fast charging (DCFC) stations to meet on-the-go EV charging demands. While government funds are available to support the expansion of the EV charging network in the United States, the establishment of a robust nationwide EV charging infrastructure requires significant private sector investment. This study was conducted to assess the economic feasibility of various business models for fast charging stations in the U.S. using two case studies and exploring different operational strategies including sole ownership and collaborative ventures with public and private entities. The results indicate that based on the current adoption and utilization rates in the U.S., the business model involving an owner-operator collaborating with a public partner ensures profitability and protects the investment in DCFC stations from financial losses. The study also highlights that demand charges and electricity retail prices are the factors that affect the profitability of a DCFC station.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Bernal & Adeeba A. Raheem & Sundeep Inti & Hongjie Wang, 2024. "Assessment of Economic Viability of Direct Current Fast Charging Infrastructure Investments for Electric Vehicles in the United States," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-21, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:15:p:6701-:d:1450347
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/15/6701/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/15/6701/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Konstantina Dimitriadou & Nick Rigogiannis & Symeon Fountoukidis & Faidra Kotarela & Anastasios Kyritsis & Nick Papanikolaou, 2023. "Current Trends in Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure; Opportunities and Challenges in Wireless Charging Integration," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-28, February.
    2. Nie, Yu (Marco) & Ghamami, Mehrnaz, 2013. "A corridor-centric approach to planning electric vehicle charging infrastructure," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 172-190.
    3. Lee, Henry & Clark, Alex, 2018. "Charging the Future: Challenges and Opportunities for Electric Vehicle Adoption," Working Paper Series rwp18-026, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    4. Lei, Xiang & Yu, Hang & Shao, Ziyun & Jian, Linni, 2023. "Optimal bidding and coordinating strategy for maximal marginal revenue due to V2G operation: Distribution system operator as a key player in China's uncertain electricity markets," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    5. Kumar, Rajeev Ranjan & Chakraborty, Abhishek & Mandal, Prasenjit, 2021. "Promoting electric vehicle adoption: Who should invest in charging infrastructure?," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Robert Serrano & Arifa Sultana & Declan Kavanaugh & Hongjie Wang, 2025. "Increasing Electric Vehicle Charger Availability with a Mobile, Self-Contained Charging Station," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-16, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tan, Bing Qing & Kang, Kai & Zhong, Ray Y., 2023. "Electric vehicle charging infrastructure investment strategy analysis: State-owned versus private parking lots," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 54-71.
    2. Hu, Xu & Yang, Zhaojun & Sun, Jun & Zhang, Yali, 2024. "When should capital-constrained swap service providers partner with battery lessors?," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    3. Dimanchev, Emil & Fleten, Stein-Erik & MacKenzie, Don & Korpås, Magnus, 2023. "Accelerating electric vehicle charging investments: A real options approach to policy design," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    4. Ding, Yanyan & Jian, Sisi, 2022. "Strategic collaboration between land owners and charging station operators: Lease or outsource?," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 183-211.
    5. Felipe, Ángel & Ortuño, M. Teresa & Righini, Giovanni & Tirado, Gregorio, 2014. "A heuristic approach for the green vehicle routing problem with multiple technologies and partial recharges," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 111-128.
    6. Feng Liu & Xingjun Huang & Longxiao Li, 2024. "The impact of green consumers on electric vehicle charging station diffusion based on complex network evolutionary game," Energy & Environment, , vol. 35(8), pages 3981-4002, December.
    7. Ming (Bryan) Wang & Li Zhao & Abigail L. Cochran, 2024. "Sentiments of Rural U.S. Communities on Electric Vehicles and Infrastructure: Insights from Twitter Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-17, June.
    8. Csiszár, Csaba & Csonka, Bálint & Földes, Dávid & Wirth, Ervin & Lovas, Tamás, 2020. "Location optimisation method for fast-charging stations along national roads," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    9. Ding, Yanyan & Jian, Sisi & Yu, Lin, 2025. "How to reduce carbon emissions in the urban transportation systems through carbon markets? Balancing the monetary and environmental benefits," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 377(PB).
    10. Li, Ke & Chen, Jixin & Sun, Xiaodong & Lei, Gang & Cai, Yingfeng & Chen, Long, 2023. "Application of wireless energy transmission technology in electric vehicles," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    11. Yan Lu & Bo Ning & Pengyun Geng & Yan Li & Jiajie Kong, 2025. "Research on the Current Status and Key Issues of China’s Green Electricity Trading Development," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-21, March.
    12. Kuby, Michael & Capar, Ismail & Kim, Jong-Geun, 2017. "Efficient and equitable transnational infrastructure planning for natural gas trucking in the European Union," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 257(3), pages 979-991.
    13. Peng, Ruoqing & Tang, Justin Hayse Chiwing G. & Yang, Xiong & Meng, Meng & Zhang, Jie & Zhuge, Chengxiang, 2024. "Investigating the factors influencing the electric vehicle market share: A comparative study of the European Union and United States," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 355(C).
    14. Suryakiran, B.V. & Nizami, Sohrab & Verma, Ashu & Saha, Tapan Kumar & Mishra, Sukumar, 2023. "A DSO-based day-ahead market mechanism for optimal operational planning of active distribution network," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    15. Srivastava, Abhishek & Kumar, Rajeev Ranjan & Chakraborty, Abhishek & Mateen, Arqum & Narayanamurthy, Gopalakrishnan, 2022. "Design and selection of government policies for electric vehicles adoption: A global perspective," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    16. Goeke, Dominik & Schneider, Michael, 2015. "Routing a mixed fleet of electric and conventional vehicles," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 245(1), pages 81-99.
    17. Khaleghikarahrodi, Mehrsa & Macht, Gretchen A., 2023. "Patterns, no patterns, that is the question: Quantifying users’ electric vehicle charging," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 291-304.
    18. Javazi, Leila & Alinaghian, Mahdi & Khosroshahi, Hossein, 2025. "Evaluating government policies promoting electric vehicles, considering battery technology, energy saving, and charging infrastructure development: A game theoretic approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 390(C).
    19. Davidov, Sreten & Pantoš, Miloš, 2017. "Impact of stochastic driving range on the optimal charging infrastructure expansion planning," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 603-612.
    20. Shao, Jing & Cui, Yinglong & Jiang, Changmin & Li, Hai, 2025. "The role of charging fee regulation in the adoption of electric vehicles," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:15:p:6701-:d:1450347. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.