Minimum cost path problem for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles

We introduce a practically important and theoretically challenging problem: finding the minimum cost path for PHEVs in a road network with refueling and charging stations. We show that this problem is NP-complete and present a mixed integer quadratically constrained formulation, a discrete approximation dynamic programming heuristic, and a shortest path heuristic as solution methodologies. Practical applications of the problem in transportation and logistics, considering specifically the long-distance trips, are discussed in detail. Through extensive computational experiments, significant insights are provided. In addition to the charging infrastructure availability, a driver's stopping tolerance arises as another critical factor affecting the transportation costs. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd.