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As Electric Vehicle (EV) adoption accelerates, expanding the necessary charging infrastructure presents a significant cost, particularly the chargers themselves. This study analyses the long-term economics of using smart, bidirectional, or a combination of both charger types. A key finding is that deploying a mix of smart and bidirectional chargers is more profitable than using a single type, with a near-optimal proportion of around 20% bidirectional chargers for 2021–2023. This optimal percentage decreases with higher EV adoption over time, reaching as low as 5% by 2040. The study assumes optimal charge/discharge management, using Oslo Airport's long-term parking as a large-scale, real-world case study with actual electricity demand data, electricity tariffs, parking data, efficiency losses and Norwegian EV growth models. It demonstrates that both smart and bidirectional EV charging increase savings through efficient energy arbitrage and significant peak demand reduction, consistently achieving a Return on Investment (ROI) greater than 100% in most scenarios. It also provides a methodology to calculate the ideal ratio of these chargers for a given EV adoption in the car segment. The study further highlights how savings are significantly influenced by electricity tariffs, demand patterns and EV charger costs. The research quantifies how investments in optimally sized EV charging infrastructure provide better ROI and breakeven times than optimally sized battery storage systems. • Mixed smart & bidirectional electric vehicle (EV) chargers are more profitable. • Method for estimating optimal mix of smart & bidirectional EV chargers • Bidirectional charger share decreases with rising EV adoption. • EV charging yields better ROI than battery storage systems (BSS). • Real-world case study using Oslo Airport's long-term parking
Parray et al. (Tue,) studied this question.