A Lightweight Simulation Framework for the Analysis of Electrified Vehicle Fleets

Replacing combustion vehicles with electric vehicles is a major step towards reducing CO 2 emissions. With regard to this shift, in particular commercial or governmental vehicle fleets are believed to be early adopters. However, the electrification of vehicle fleets is a complex task since it can have a huge impact on companies´ day-to-day-business. This article presents a lightweight simulation framework to support the planning process and to study important effects of vehicle fleet electrification. Our discrete event-based approach allows to investigate economical and environmental aspects, such as the impact on operating costs, the required electric energy, or the amount of CO 2 emissions. Based on a given trip schedule (consisting of start time, distance, and duration), the framework allows deriving all necessary information, among others to dimension both the vehicle fleet and the charging infrastructure. We show the usefulness and the capability of our model by presenting results for a mid-sized company´s vehicle fleet comprising 100 vehicles.