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The transition to Electric Vehicles (EVs) for reducing urban greenhouse gas emissions is hindered by the lack of public charging infrastructure, particularly fast-charging stations. Given that electric vehicle fast charging stations (EVFCS) can burden the electricity grid, it is crucial for EVFCS to adopt sustainable energy supply methods while accommodating the growing demands of EVs. Despite recent research efforts to optimize the placement of renewable-powered EV charging stations, current planning methods face challenges when applied to a complex city scale and integrating with renewable energy resources. This study thus introduces a robust decision-making model for optimal EVFCS placement planning integrated with solar power supply in a large and complex urban environment (e.g., Chicago), utilizing an advantage actor-critic (A2C) deep reinforcement learning (DRL) approach. The model balances traffic demand with energy supply, strategically placing charging stations in areas with high traffic density and solar potential. As a result, the model is used to optimally place 1,000 charging stations with a random starting search approach, achieving total reward values of 74.30 %, and estimated the capacities of potential EVFCS. This study can inform the identification of suitable locations to advance the microgrid-based charging infrastructure systems in large urban environments. 

Abstract The development of electronic devices from naturally derived materials is of enormous scientific interest. Melanin, a dark protective pigment ubiquitous in living creatures, may be particularly valuable because of its ability to conduct charges both electronically and ionically. However, device applications are severely hindered by its relatively poor electrical properties. Here, the facile preparation of conductive melanin composites is reported in which melanin nanoparticles (MNPs), directly extracted from squid inks, form electrically continuous junctions by tight clustering in a poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) matrix. Prepared as freestanding films and patterned microstructures by a series of precipitation, dry casting, and post‐thermal annealing steps, the percolated composites show electrical conductivities as high as 1.17 ± 0.13 S cm⁻¹at room temperature, which is the best performance yet obtained with biologically‐derived nanoparticles. Furthermore, the biodegradability of the MNP/PVA composites is confirmed through appetitive ingestion byZophobas morioslarvae (superworms). This discovery for preparing versatile biocomposites suggests new opportunities in functional material selections for the emerging applications of implantable, edible, green bioelectronics.