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Tech developing electric vehicle demonstration testbed in the Upper Cumberland region

Electric vehicle testbed — Pictured (left to right): East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition Executive Director Jonathan Overly, Tennessee Tech President Philip Oldham, Project PI and Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Pingen Chen, and Seven States Power Corporation Director of Distributed Energy Resources Brad Rains are shown with the new direct current (DC) fast charging station that will serve the project and community.

Pingen Chen, mechanical engineering assistant professor and Center for Manufacturing Research faculty associate--along with co-principal investigators Stephen Canfield, mechanical engineering professor; Vahid Motevalli, associate dean of Engineering; Indranil Bhattacharya, electrical and computer engineering associate professor; and Olorunfemi Ojo, electrical and computer engineering professor--are working with the U.S. Department of Energy to create a proof-of-concept demonstration testbed for electric vehicles and charging infrastructures in the Upper Cumberland region of Tennessee, which is a rural and economically distressed area. The project will provide the experience, research, demonstrations and educational opportunities needed to address the adoption of EVs. Comprehensive data will be collected and analyzed to report the operation cost, issues and performance of EVs to help potential fleet owners and the public make informed decisions before making a significant financial investment in EVs for rural areas.

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