During the 2024 Seven States Annual Meeting in October, a team from the University of Tennessee Knoxville and University of Tennessee Chattanooga provided a unique demonstration of EV charger analytics to inform infrastructure deployment. Panelists Dr. Mina Sartipi (Executive Director, TN-Chattanooga Research Institute, UTC), Jennifer Fritts, Director of Advancement Engineering & Technology, UTC), Medhi Khaleghian (PhD Candidate, UTC) and Victoria Hirschberg (AVP of Research, Outreach & Economic Development, UTK) presented updated information about the current distribution and adoption of EVs and EV chargers throughout the Valley in collaboration with the Fast Charge Network TN initiative.
The initiative began in 2022 and has a goal of funding the installation of a network of fast charging stations every 50 miles along Tennessee’s interstates and major highways. According to the panelists, there are now over 61,000 EVs on U.S. highways which represents a 40% increase year over year.
In March 2023, there were 14 fast charger stations online, at 8 different sites; of those, 14 were in TN. Today, we are receiving data from 90 fast charger stations at 41 different sites across the Valley. Each charging station is operating and sending data about utilization and demand to analysts. Together with other chargers Seven States has installed since 2018, the UTC research team analyzed data from 120 charging stations across the Seven States footprint. This information helped the team understand current EV charger utilization, behaviors of EV drivers, predict emerging utilization patterns, and measure location-based greenhouse gas savings on the Valley’s generation mix.
Seven States’ very own Joe Knox is at the forefront of this collaboration. His work with UTC’s team has resulted in a published paper on EV data trends in the Valley. This project is an example of Seven States moving beyond the delivery of technology, and developing a data driven understanding of how to optimize innovation that meets the emerging demands for energy supply. For more information on the UTC Research Institute click here.
