Aligned Simulation Models for Simulating Africa’s Electric Minibus Taxis

Abraham, Chris Joseph; Rix, Arnold; Booysen, Marthinus Johannes

doi:10.3390/wevj14080230

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…However, as energy efficiency is driving style dependent, an efficiency representative of the South African minibus industry is needed for this paper. One such study has found an energy efficiency of 0.55 kWh/km, which will be used in this paper [64].…”

Section: Vehicle Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Solar PV and Stationary Storage to Buffer the Impact of Electric Minibus Charging in Grid-Constrained Sub-Saharan Africa

Giliomee,

Pretorius,

Füßl

et al. 2024

Energies

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Despite the unstoppable global drive towards electric mobility, the electrification of sub-Saharan Africa’s ubiquitous informal multi-passenger minibus taxis raises substantial concerns. This is due to a constrained electricity system, both in terms of generation capacity and distribution networks. Without careful planning and mitigation, the additional load of charging hundreds of thousands of electric minibus taxis during peak demand times could prove catastrophic. This paper assesses the impact of charging 202 of these taxis in Johannesburg, South Africa. The potential of using external stationary battery storage and solar PV generation is assessed to reduce both peak grid demand and total energy drawn from the grid. With the addition of stationary battery storage of an equivalent of 60 kWh/taxi and a solar plant of an equivalent of 9.45 kWpk/taxi, the grid load impact is reduced by 66%, from 12 kW/taxi to 4 kW/taxi, and the daily grid energy by 58% from 87 kWh/taxi to 47 kWh/taxi. The country’s dependence on coal to generate electricity, including the solar PV supply, also reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 58%.

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Section: Vehicle Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Solar PV and Stationary Storage to Buffer the Impact of Electric Minibus Charging in Grid-Constrained Sub-Saharan Africa

Giliomee,

Pretorius,

Füßl

et al. 2024

Energies

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show abstract

“…From the flow diagrams, the two main models used in Figure 8 are the electric motor model, indicated on the diagrams as 'EM-model', which refers to the powertrain efficiency model built by Lacock et al [7], and the 'Electro-kinetic EV model', which refers to the simulation developed by Abraham et al [37], in which the propulsion efficiency, η prop , was assumed to be constant.…”

Section: Simulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electric Vehicle Drivetrain Efficiency and the Multi-Speed Transmission Question

Lacock,

du Plessis,

Booysen

2023

WEVJ

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The availability of high-fidelity energy consumption estimates and the ability to evaluate drivetrain efficiency are crucial for effectively planning a large-scale transition to electric vehicles. For both new and retrofitted electric vehicles, a key question is the transmission type—single-speed or multi-speed—and the resulting impact on the vehicle’s overall efficiency. This paper presents a comprehensive simulation-based methodology for evaluating the impact of transmission selection on vehicle efficiency using high-fidelity driving cycle data. The method can be used for new vehicles and retrofit applications where a transmission is already present. The efficiency of a single-speed reduction gearbox was compared to that of a five-speed multi-speed transmission in a retrofitted vehicle, of which the impact of the manual transmission on the vehicle dynamics and efficiency was examined. The manual transmission proved to be more efficient for a perfect gear-shifting strategy.

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“…These parameters are only suggestions and are fully modifiable to the user if they wish to use other EVs as a reference. If the user only wishes to modify the battery capacity, it is suggested that the energy efficiency is modified according to the suggested ratios by Abraham et al [39]. In the extended version of Grid-Sim, users have the option to include external batteries and a solar charging station.…”

Section: Scenario Initialisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grid-Sim: Simulating Electric Fleet Charging with Renewable Generation and Battery Storage

Giliomee,

Booysen

2023

WEVJ

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The inevitable electrification of the sub-Saharan African paratransit system poses substantial threats to an already crippled electricity supply network. The integration of any electric vehicle fleet in this region will require in-depth analyses and understanding of the grid impact due to charging. This allows informative decisions for sufficient planning to be made for the required network infrastructure or the implementation of applicable ‘load-shifting’ techniques. This paper presents Grid-Sim, a software tool that enables comprehensive analysis of the grid impact implications of electrifying vehicle fleets. Grid-Sim is applied to assess the load profiles, energy demand, load-shifting techniques, and associated emissions for two charging stations serving an electrified minibus taxi fleet of 202 vehicles in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is found that the current operation patterns result in a peak grid power draw of 12 kW/taxi, grid-drawn energy of 87.4 kWh/taxi/day, and, subsequently, 93 kg CO2/taxi/day of emissions. However, when using the built-in option of including external batteries and a solar charging station, the average peak power draw reduces by 66%, and both grid-drawn energy and emissions reduce by 58%.

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Aligned Simulation Models for Simulating Africa’s Electric Minibus Taxis

Cited by 6 publications

References 14 publications

Using Solar PV and Stationary Storage to Buffer the Impact of Electric Minibus Charging in Grid-Constrained Sub-Saharan Africa

Using Solar PV and Stationary Storage to Buffer the Impact of Electric Minibus Charging in Grid-Constrained Sub-Saharan Africa

Electric Vehicle Drivetrain Efficiency and the Multi-Speed Transmission Question

Grid-Sim: Simulating Electric Fleet Charging with Renewable Generation and Battery Storage

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