A techno-economical analysis of charge management in electrical vehicles

Several issues related to the prospected fast growth of the circulating Electric Vehicles are analysed. The environmental and economical topics are investigated first. Then several approaches for on-board charge management are reviewed and compared on the basis of efficiency, environmental impact and charging time. A particular effort is devoted to stress the potential benefits and limitations of Battery Swapping, and to outline the upgrades of Electric Vehicle design required to enable and promote its diffusion.