Strategic Placement of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations: Advancing Decarbonisation in the Transport Sector

About this opportunity

The global shift toward sustainability aims to drive transformative changes in the transportation sector, particularly by adopting electric vehicles (EVs) as a cleaner alternative to traditional internal combustion engine vehicles. While the adoption of EVs is accelerating worldwide, supported by government incentives, a critical challenge is establishing adequate charging infrastructure to support this transition. Strategic placement of charging stations is vital, requiring careful consideration of factors such as demand, social equity, energy and integration with transportation networks while discouraging excessive reliance on private vehicles. Although prior studies have explored charging infrastructure through separate spatial and mathematical optimisation lenses, a comprehensive approach that incorporates spatial, energy, and sociodemographic factors remains lacking. This project aims to fill this gap by developing a modelling framework that equips planners and policymakers with a robust tool for locating EV charging stations based on defined criteria and available data. The primary goal of this project is to create an optimisation tool integrated with a spatial model to identify optimal locations for EV charging stations within a given region. Key objectives include identifying critical parameters influencing charging station placement, formulating an optimisation problem to maximise utilisation while ensuring equitable access, and designing an interactive tool that allows stakeholders to visualise charging station locations based on regional needs and constraints.

This innovative tool has the potential to deliver significant benefits by enabling local stakeholders to strategically plan and deploy charging infrastructure tailored to their specific contexts, ultimately supporting the decarbonisation of the transport sector.

This PhD is delivered through the dual NTHU–University of Liverpool programme. The first two years will be spent at The University of Liverpool (Dr Anna Charly and Prof Musa Bashir) and the following two years at NTHU (Prof Dung-Ying Lin). This collaboration provides an opportunity to undertake outstanding research that will significantly contribute to decision-making and policy formulation regarding EV charging stations.

Further reading

Charly et al. (2023). “Identifying optimal locations for community electric vehicle charging”.  Sustainable Cities and Society. 94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2023.104573

Lin and Kuo. (2021). “The vehicle deployment and relocation problem for electric vehicle sharing systems considering demand and parking space stochasticity”. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review. 156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tre.2021.102514

Who is this for?

Candidates will have, or be due to obtain, a Master’s Degree or equivalent in a relevant subject.

Funding your PhD

This project is a part of a 4-year dual PhD programme between National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) in Taiwan and the University of Liverpool in England. It is planned that students will spend 2 years at NTHU, followed by 2 years at the University of Liverpool.

Both the University of Liverpool and NTHU have agreed to waive the tuition fees for the duration of the project and provide a maintenance stipend to support living costs. During the 2 years based in Taiwan, students will receive TWD 15,233/month as a contribution to living costs. During the 2 years based in Liverpool, students will receive a stipend at the standard UKRI Studentship rate, for 2025-26 this is £20,780 pa and this rises with inflation each year.

This Studentship also comes with access to additional funding in the form of a Research Training Support Grant to fund consumables, conference attendance, etc.

These Studentships are available to any prospective student wishing to apply including both home and international students. A limited number of scholarships will be available to support outstanding international students.

We want all of our Staff and Students to feel that Liverpool is an inclusive and welcoming environment that actively celebrates and encourages diversity. We are committed to working with students to make all reasonable project adaptations including supporting those with caring responsibilities, disabilities or other personal circumstances. For example, If you have a disability you may be entitled to a Disabled Students Allowance on top of your studentship to help cover the costs of any additional support that a person studying for a doctorate might need as a result. We believe everyone deserves an excellent education and encourage students from all backgrounds and personal circumstances to apply.

Contact us

Have a question about this research opportunity or studying a PhD with us? Please get in touch with us, using the contact details below, and we’ll be happy to assist you.