Electric Vehicles and the Future of Energy Efficient Transportation

The electric vehicle market has been gradually gaining prominence in the world due to the rise in pollution levels caused by traditional IC engine-based vehicles. The advantages of electric vehicles are multi-pronged in terms of cost, energy efficiency, and environmental impact. The running and maintenance cost are considerably less than traditional models. The harmful exhaust emissions are reduced, besides the greenhouse gas emissions, when the electric vehicle is supplied from a renewable energy source. However, apart from some Western nations, many developing and underdeveloped countries have yet to take up this initiative. This lack of enthusiasm has been primarily attributed to the capital investment required for charging infrastructure and the slow transition of energy generation from the fossil fuel to the renewable energy format. Currently, there are very few charging stations, and the construction of the same needs to be ramped up to supplement the growth of electric vehicles. Grid integration issues also crop up when the electric vehicle is used to either do supply addition to or draw power from the grid. These problems need to be fixed at all the levels to enhance the future of energy efficient transportation.

Electric Vehicles and the Future of Energy Efficient Transportation explores the growth and adoption of electric vehicles for the purpose of sustainable transportation and presents a critical analysis in terms of the economics, technology, and environmental perspectives of electric vehicles. The chapters cover the benefits and limitations of electric vehicles, techno-economic feasibility of the technologies being developed, and the impact this has on society. Specific points of discussion include electric vehicle architecture, wireless power transfer, battery management, and renewable resources. This book is of interest for individuals in the automotive sector and allied industries, policymakers, practitioners, engineers, technicians, researchers, academicians, and students looking for updated information on the technology, economics, policy, and environmental aspects of electric vehicles.

Umashankar Subramaniam is Associate Professor in Renewable Energy Lab, College of Engineering, Prince Sultan University, Saudi Arabia. He has 15+ years of teaching, research and industrial R&D experience. Previously, he worked as Associate Professor and Head, VIT Vellore as well as Senior R&D and Senior Application Engineer in the field of power electronics, renewable Energy and electrical drives. He is a Senior member-IEEE, and Member of IACSIT, IDES and ISTE. He has taken charge as Vice Chair - IEEE Madras Section and Chair - IEEE Student Activities from 2018. He was executive member (2014-16) and Vice Chair of IEEE MAS Young Professional from 2017 by IEEE Madras Section. He has published more than 250+ research papers in national and international journals and conferences. He has also authored/co-authored/contributed 12 books/chapters and 12 technical articles on power electronics applications in renewable energy and allied areas. He is an Editor of Heliyon, an Elsevier journal. He received Danfoss Innovator Award-Mentor during 2014-15 & 2017-18, Research Award from VIT University during 2013-18. Also he received the INAE Summer Research Fellowship for the year 2014. Under his guidance 24 P.G students and more than 25 U.G Students completed the senior design project work. Also 6 PhD scholars completed Doctoral thesis as Research Associate. He is also involved in collaborative research projects with various international and national level organizations and research institutions.

Sheldon S. Williamson , PhD, Canada Research Chair in Electric Energy Storage Systems for Transportation Electrification, and Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer and Software Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, is leading groundbreaking research to extend the overall lifecycle of Lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles using novel power electronic converter management systems. He is also focused on creating wireless and plugged fast-charging infrastructures for convenient use. Notably, he is spearheading development of the world’s first method for charging electric vehicles using solar power and he aims to establish a first-of-its-kind Advanced Storage Systems and Electric Transportation (ASSET) Laboratory, featuring a solar charging station, at UOIT. Motivated to shift Canada’s transportation system from fossil fuels to renewables, his research also explores electrifying mass transit using ultracapacitors. Since joining UOIT in July 2014, Dr. Williamson has been the Founder and Director of the Smart Transportation Electrification and Energy Research (STEER) group. Previously, he was an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Concordia University in Montreal. He received his Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering with high distinction from the University of Mumbai in India in 1999. In 2002, he earned his Master of Science and his Doctorate in 2006, both in Electrical Engineering, specializing in Automotive Power Electronics and Motor Drives from the Illinois Institute of Technology. Noted author and co-author of over 150 papers, and several books and book chapters on electric transportation and energy storage systems, Dr. Williamson has garnered several Best Paper Awards. He is a Senior Member of IEEE and a distinguished lecturer of the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society.

Mohan Krishna. S was awarded Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (Sensorless control of induction motor drives) from Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), India, in March 2017. He received his B.Tech and M.Tech degrees from Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore, India in 2009 and 2012 respectively. He also acquired a domain specific MBA (Power Management) from University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), Dehradun, India, in 2019. His research interests include, electric vehicles, smart homes and IoT based building energy management systems, state observers for induction motors, energy economics and sustainability etc. He has many research publications in SCI/SCI-E and Scopus indexed journals, book chapters and also in conference proceedings to his credit. He is Energy section advisory board member of Heliyon (Elsevier). He also serves as the Associate Editor of International Journal of Smart Vehicles and Smart Transportation (IJSVST), IGI Global, US. Additionally, he is a member of the editorial review board of International Journal of Energy Optimization and Engineering (IJEOE - Web of Science (ESCI)). He is also editing several books in the domain of electric vehicle , smart grids and energy sustainability. He also serves as a reviewer for IEEE Access, IET Control theory, IET Electric Power Applications, COMPEL, Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences (all SCI) and several other Scopus indexed journals. He is a Life member of several professional societies like the IET, Institution of Engineers (India), ISTE, IAENG, ENFUSE and a member of IEEE. He is also a member of the IEEE YP and IEEE SIGHT (Special Interest Group on Humanitarian Technology), Bangalore section.

Febin Daya J. L. received his B.E. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Manonmaniam Sundarnar University, Tamilnadu, India, in 2002, M.E. in Applied Electronics from Anna University, Tamilnadu, India, in 2005 and PhD in Information and Communication from Anna University, Tamilnadu, India in 2013. From 2005 to 2011, he was working in the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at the Sri Krishna College of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, India. Presently he is a Professor at school of Electrical Engineering, VIT University, Chennai, India. He has published around 75 papers in International Journals and Conferences. He is involved actively in many professional bodies at the level of editor/associate editor /editorial board member/reviewer in India and abroad. He was invited as honorary program committee/technical committee/steering committee member/chair for more than 15 International conferences in India and Abroad. Febin Daya is a member of IEEE and Life Member of Indian Society of Technical Education. His current research interests include electrical drives, intelligent systems and electric vehicles.