A review on electric vehicle charging station planning: Infrastructure placement, sizing, upgrades, and uncertainties

Electric Vehicles (EVs) are rapidly expanding, resulting in increased demand on power systems and transportation networks. This study reviews recent advancements in planning EV Charging Stations (EVCSs), focusing on siting, sizing, grid upgrades, and managing uncertainty. Analysis suggests that while many studies optimize either the location or the size of these stations, few consider their combined effects, resulting in missed opportunities for synergy. A lack of attention to cross-sector integration with hydrogen, inadequate treatment of grid reinforcement, and fragmented approaches to modeling uncertainties, such as EV behavior, renewable energy variability, and market dynamics, is also observed. To address these gaps, a synthesis of the interdependencies between siting and sizing is provided, along with a review of multi-energy integration opportunities, an evaluation of Vehicle-to-Grid technology and smart charging, including technical benefits and challenges, strategies that link the deployment of EVCS to grid upgrades, and a taxonomy of uncertainty sources along with advanced stochastic and data-driven solutions. This review emphasizes the importance of integrated, data-informed planning in the development of EV charging infrastructure. • This work integrates EVCS siting, sizing, and grid upgrades into a unified framework. • Key uncertainties in EVCS planning and mitigation strategies are categorized. • Bidirectional charging and multi-energy systems are explored for grid integration. • A comprehensive review of optimization methods for EV charging planning is done.