The EVO team is acting as a supplemental consultant to help Columbia review their electric vehicle (EV) charging plan as the University continues to electrify its fleet. Exciting breakthroughs have been made to improve the state of sustainable transportation at Columbia and help tackle the goals laid out in Plan 2030 by improving access to sustainable transportation, one of the key implementation areas.
EVO has assisted Columbia in determining how many chargers are needed with the amount of EVs owned to ensure infrastructure can meet the demand, and have created a phased approach to improve the University’s ability to “future proof” EV charging at Columbia. This means thinking ahead and using data to project the expected demand as EV adoption grows.
“Columbia has always pushed to adopt new technology in the transportation sector, being one of the first institutions to invest in electric buses back in 2018,” said Scott Wright, Vice President for Campus Services, who was present at the meeting. “Our partnership with this group of dedicated student partners will help sustain Columbia’s leadership in the EV industry.”
At their presentation in late October, EVO showed that their team analysis the amount of additional EV chargers Columbia will need is much smaller than expected. They shared some existing policy and economic incentives that will allow the University to charge vehicles more efficiently.
The partnership with EVO supports Columbia’s mission to facilitate the use of Campus as a Living Lab. As part of Plan 2030, Columbia University is committed to creating opportunities for students to put the skills they learn in class to work solving real-world climate and sustainability challenges. The initiative includes capstone projects, student club activities, independent research, internships, and more.
“Columbia students are an important asset to the work we do in climate and sustainability on campus,” said Dan Allalemdjian, Director for Sustainability and Transportation. “The skills they’re learning through their coursework, their enthusiasm for solving problems, and their fresh perspectives have contributed so much value to our work.”
Columbia will review and keep working with EVO as their project work includes two more phases. The work to come includes research around hydrogen versus electric fleets, as well as electric fleet alternatives for medium-duty trucks.
