Equitable rural electric vehicle charging through peer-to-peer curbside networks

Rural regions face persistent barriers to electric vehicle (EV) adoption due to limited charging accessibility. This study develops a novel framework that integrates agent-based and stochastic simulation with equity-oriented accessibility metrics to evaluate the potential of peer-to-peer (P2P) charger sharing in enhancing rural EV charging access. The framework models individual travel and charging behaviours and assesses P2P effectiveness across varying EV penetration and participation scenarios using spatial and temporal accessibility indicators. Application to a rural Irish town shows that charging accessibility increases with P2P participation, but with smaller marginal gains beyond 30–60%. The analysis identifies priority areas and households with high suitability for P2P participation, providing insights for setting context-specific accessibility targets, establishing participation benchmarks, and designing differentiated incentive schemes. The framework has the potential to support equitable expansion of P2P charging networks in sparsely populated, car-dependent rural regions across European contexts with similar characteristics.