Cooperative multi-agent reinforcement learning for grid-aware EV charging management with cross-site redirection

• A grid-aware multi-agent reinforcement learning was developed for EV charging. • Public charging data worked with domestic demand to build a real environment. • A dual-head actor optimised the acceptance and cross-site redirection of EV charging. • A centralised attention-based critic and delayed replay buffer ensured stable learning. • The RL policy reduced peak load variability by 40 % and threshold violations by 37 %. As electric vehicles (EV) become more widespread, managing charging demand is critical for grid stability and efficient resource allocation. However, prior work often optimises single sites or treats demand as exogenous, without explicitly modelling grid capacity constraints or the aggregate effects of redirection, and it rarely offers an integrated capacity-aware view that links domestic and public charging under system-level coordination. This study, therefore, develops a multi-agent reinforcement learning framework with cross-site redirection to optimise EV charging operations. The research area focuses on the Perth and Kinross region of Scotland in the UK, using real public charging records from the council database as well as domestic charging statistics from the UK Department for Transport. Charging sites are modelled as cooperative agents using the Multi-Agent Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient algorithm, trained in a spatiotemporal environment that integrates public charging data and simulated domestic demand. We contribute by unifying public and home charging demand in one learning environment, introducing a cross-site actor trained under centralised training and decentralised execution, and incorporating a delayed replay buffer with short-horizon forecasts so redirection aligns with future congestion. The learned policy reduces peak-hour load standard deviation by up to 40 % and lowers cumulative threshold violations by 37 % compared to the baseline. Distinct weekday and weekend strategies emerge, enabling adaptive coordination under varying demand patterns. The study provides interpretable control for EV networks, balancing peak demand and service quality across sites while addressing the system-level coordination.