Environment and Energy Economics Program Meeting, Spring 2026

Why It Matters

Quantifying and addressing range anxiety informs optimal allocation of public funds, accelerating EV adoption and supporting climate goals.

Key Takeaways

• Range anxiety costs EV owners $2,500 in 2018, $1,200 in 2024.
• Shanghai’s fast charger network grew from 100 to over 2,000 stations.
• Vehicle range increased from 320 km to 380 km between 2018‑2024.
• Model shows Shanghai over‑invested in chargers, under‑invested in battery range.
• Coordinated policy on charging infrastructure and battery improvements maximizes adoption.

Summary

The Environment and Energy Economics program featured a paper quantifying range anxiety – the fear of depleting an electric‑vehicle battery before reaching a charger – and its impact on adoption. Using five‑second granularity data from roughly 200,000 trips and 30,000 charging events across Shanghai, the authors built a continuous‑time dynamic model that captures the utility loss from foregone trips due to anxiety. Key findings show range anxiety cost EV owners about $2,500 in 2018, falling to $1,200 by 2024 as Shanghai expanded its public fast‑charging network from roughly 100 stations to over 2,000 and vehicle ranges grew from 320 km to 380 km. The model reveals that while charging infrastructure is now dense, the city remains under‑invested in extending vehicle range, leading to a sub‑optimal mix of policy tools. Empirical evidence includes a sharp drop in trip hazard rates once state‑of‑charge falls below 100 km, indicating drivers forego feasible trips out of fear. Drivers with home chargers exhibit lower sensitivity to state‑of‑charge, whereas those without rely heavily on public fast chargers and react strongly to local charger density and price. The authors argue that coordinated investment—balancing further charger deployment with incentives for longer‑range batteries—will achieve social efficiency and accelerate EV adoption. Policymakers should recalibrate spending toward battery range improvements while maintaining sufficient charging access to mitigate anxiety.