Contents I. Introduction
Nowadays, climate change imposes enormous pressures on the resilience of modern societies, therefore, many world leaders agreed to accelerate the de-carbonization of road transport in the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, and they have undertaken to limit greenhouse gas emissions to slow global warming [1]. As ever-growing vehicles with their reliance on fossil fuels is seen as a global threat to the environment and quality of life, it is crucial to transform the current mobility system into a more sustainable one. Among the many innovative solutions, electric vehicles (EVs) are among the most promising technologies to pave the way for a more sustainable environment. The rapid growth of EV adoption provides tremendous business opportunities for expanding EV charging infrastructure, and a proper charging network helps further accelerate the transition from combustion to EVs. In fact, charging stations (CSs) are considered as one of the main contributing factors to be enabled the more widespread use of EVs [2]. Thus, proper site planning for CSs is a big problem. If the CSs are constructed in not suitable locations, drivers and traffic networks can be negatively affected [3]. Regarding this, CSs’ location selection is one of the most vital topics to put CSs in appropriate places to make more effective use of EVs owned by citizens [4]. Besides that, it is critical to install new CSs in the most suitable locations to bring value to all stakeholders (drivers, charge point operators, investors, distribution system operators, utilities/aggregators, car manufacturers, etc.) by maximize the benefits and utilization, minimizing cost, and shorten the time for return on investment. Increased usage is proven to directly increase the revenue margin from the CS.
