Along with Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB), a Seven States Power member, we partnered with the University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK) on a student-led electric vehicle (EV) research project in Spring 2020. In the Fall of 2021, we completed Phase 2 of that project with the installation of a networked EV charger on campus.
The research project began with four groups of students in UTK’s Health Integrated Business & Engineering Program charged with developing a business plan for electric vehicle charging infrastructure on the college campus. Seven States and KUB served as industry experts, providing information and experience to the teams as they conducted surveys, studied maps of the electric grid, designed charging infrastructure, evaluated vendors and developed revenue streams to justify the proposed installation.
The teams, which included engineering and business students working together, designed solutions that demonstrated a strong understanding of the technology and the business case for rapid deployment of it. The project concluded with the installation of a dual port Level 2 ChargePoint EV charge that is accessible to students, faculty and the public. Located off Neyland Drive near the College of Engineering and Neyland Stadium, it is a perfect location for the campus' first networked EV charger. UTK, KUB and Seven States celebrated the installation with a ribbon cutting ceremony on November 1, 2021. KUB and Seven States are excited to work with students on EV charger installations this Fall, and we look forward to future student-led research projects with the University.
