Empowering Electric Vehicle Adoption: Innovative Strategies for Optimizing Charging Station Placement Based on Projected Demand

Electric vehicles (EVs) are pivotal for reducing transportation-related emissions; however, the lack of adequate charging infrastructure remains a significant barrier to their widespread adoption. This study presents a comprehensive methodology for optimizing EV charging station placement. It combines a gravity model, scenario analysis, and mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) to ensure a thorough and robust approach. The model aims to maximize accessibility by ensuring both path-level and overall system demand coverage across diverse scenarios, providing reassurance about the validity of the findings. The methodology is tested on the Bursa–İzmir motorway in Turkey, a strategic intercity route with rapidly growing EV penetration. Results reveal that the optimal configuration involves locating charging stations in seven of the nine service areas. This allocation secures a minimum path coverage ratio of 0.903, meaning 90.3% of the route is covered by charging stations, and an overall demand coverage ratio of 0.935, indicating that 93.5% of total demand is covered across all scenarios. A sensitivity analysis further shows that increasing the network to 45 chargers elevates reachability levels to above 97%, indicating the infrastructure scale required for reliable service quality. The findings underscore the practical applicability of the proposed framework, providing policymakers and infrastructure planners with robust, data-driven guidance for charging network expansion. By integrating demand forecasting with resilient optimization, this study advances both methodological and empirical insights, empowering the audience to make informed decisions for sustainable EV adoption.