Design and Pilot Tests of a Transportable Off-Grid Charging Station for E-Bikes Powered by Renewables

The electrification of the transportation sector is the most important objective in order to reduce the greenhouse gases emissions and hence fulfill the Sustainable Development Goals, provided that the electricity for charging the Electric Vehicles is produced from renewable sources. Nevertheless, the intermittent nature of the renewable power sources and the users’ charging demand scenario might pose serious threats to the smooth functioning of the electrical grid even in the most developed countries. For this reason, the implementation of off-grid Charging Stations powered by renewable power technologies having low Operation & Maintenance requirements is a valuable development, in particular for the exploitation in developing countries, in remote areas or in areas possibly subjected to natural hazards. Furthermore, the charging demands might likely be not homogeneous and highly variable in time and space, hence the idea that at least part of the charging station infrastructure might be transportable is an added value. Based on such a premise, the present study deals with the preliminary energy system design and the pilot test of an off-grid e-bike charging station powered solely by PhotoVoltaic panels. A simulation framework based on real meteorological data indicated that the charging station is capable of providing service up to ten users requesting the charge at the same time. A prototype has been implemented for dissemination and for studying users’ attitudes in the context of the Giro-E, which is the most important Italian cycling competition specifically devoted to e-bikes. The success of such prototype paves the way to technological transfer and industrialization.