The way that the areas of transport and power generation have become intertwined in very recent times through the dramatic growth of interest in the decarbonising potential of electric vehicle technology is truly remarkable. These days the technology is pretty high up the agenda for most forward looking power utilities.
Of particular interest is the not particularly attractively acronymed PHEV – the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. This employs an electric motor and an internal combustion engine (as in the Toyota Prius) but has the added feature that it can be plugged into the mains for charging, eg overnight.
Take American Electric Power, for example. Its portfolio approach for addressing CO2 emissions includes – along with the usual suspects such as energy efficiency, advanced coal fired power plants, carbon capture and storage and nukes – the deployment of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. And to prove how committed it is last year AEP joined the Electric Drive Transport Association.
EPRI, the research body for US utilities, is working with Ford on approaches to integrating PHEVs with the grid. Southern California Edison (SCE) has also been working with Ford, testing PHEVs in the LA area. SCE and DTE Energy have recently joined the US DoE’s FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership, while the US DoE has recently announced funding of USD 30 million for PHEV projects (to a team including GM and EPRI (lithium-ion battery technology), to Ford plus EPRI, SCE and Johnson Controls-Saft (PHEV mass production) and to GE plus Chrysler (dual-battery technology).
But it is not just in the USA that the PHEV is really motoring. Dong, for example, has recently signed a letter of intent with California based Project Better Place with the aim of introducing PHEVs to Denmark, based on Renault-Nissan vehicle technology and NEC lithium-ion batteries. This followed an agree ment announced in January between Better Place, Renault-Nissan and the government of Israel on PHEV introduction.
It is also significant that Eurelectric decided to give its first ever annual award to Toyota, for its work in hybrid electric vehicles and the Prius. Toyota is currently looking at launching a plug in version of this vehicle and is said to be in partnership “with a leading European electricity group” (while A123 Systems of the USA says it is already accepting customer deposits on kits for conversion of the Prius from HEV to PHEV – which will cost US $ 9995 – using the company’s advanced nanosphosphate lithium ion battery technology).
In presenting the award to Toyota, Eurelectric’s president, Lars Josefsson of Vattenfall said that “electrification of road transport is one of the last frontiers for electricity and a key to reducing oil-dependency and cutting CO2 emissions.”
It also promises a route to guilt-free motor vehicles and offers, via the PHEV, a very interesting way of introducing storage capabilities to the grid – extremely useful for the accommodation of renewables. This is because the PHEV can be charged during the night when power demand is low, with, eg, wind generated electricity.
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