Toyota Sends Plug-in Hybrids to University of California at Berkeley, Irvine for Further Study
University of California at Berkeley and Irvine Will Each Get a HPEV
The two UC schools have been working with Toyota under the auspices of the automobile manufacturer's sustainable mobility development program. In addition to the new PHEV research, the universities and Toyota have also worked on fuel cell technology and hydrogen fuels. Other groups involved in and providing funding for the PHEV research are the California Air Resources Board and the California Energy Commission. Funding is allocated through the State of California under Assembly Bill 1811, which is an incentive program for alternative fuels.
The UC Irvine will study challenges inherent in the new technology as well as adequate and effective methods of assessing the benefits of plug-in hybrids. Because PHEVs rely on traditional sources of electricity, including coal fired and natural gas-derived power generation, it is crucial to determine if PHEVs will offer any true benefit for consumers and the environment. UC Irvine will also work on ways to measure and test fuel economy and emissions in the new technology.
The work undertaken by UC Berkeley will center on the consumer reaction and acceptance of the PHEV. Since PHEVs will depend on charging batteries, some time and appropriate places will be needed to do that, and so the UC Berkeley team will study how consumers will deal with certain limitations and other considerations when using PHEVs. Also, UC Berkeley will research the typical time of day that PHEVs will be plugged in to charge, and whether that will happen at home or at the workplace for most people.
The Toyota PHEVs use nickel-metal hydride batteries that are meant to provide performance roughly equivalent to today's smaller engine cars. However, the current battery packs are still being developed, and will hopefully, if necessary, be developed into more powerful and more compact units. Currently, the batteries fit in the trunk, taking up the space normally used for a spare tire. Toyota is using the Prius body and frame for the PHEV prototypes.
PHEVs are meant to run on electricity much longer than current gas-electric hybrids. Charging the cars will be done with a typical three-prong cord plugged into any household outlet. By using more electricity to run, the PHEVs should cut greenhouse gas emissions substantially, especially for those drivers that use the car for short-distance commutes and errands. The issue remains that depending on the local source of the electricity, namely fossil fuels, would any true reduction of emissions be possible. This will be part of the research conducted at UC Irvine, as well as how PHEVs would impact California's already-strained electric grid.
Bob Carter, the Toyota Division general manager, added to the Toyota press release announcing the next stage of research, "...there are still many questions to be answered and challenges to be resolved before Toyota can bring a product to market that has the quality, durability and reliability that customers expect from us. The universities will help us and California better understand what it will take to turn these options into meaningful solutions."
Source: Toyota Motors, University of California at Irvine
Published by alex cruden
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3 Comments
Post a Commentit into the air for all of us to breathe is probably not a good thing.
I charge my PHEV with Domestic Wind Power that offsets my Foreign Oil use. It takes about 3 seconds to plug-in and I have a timer that charges at midnight. It takes about 4kwh to refill my battery pack. I spend 15 cents per kwh for wind energy so that is about 60 cents times 22 days a month or $13.20 a month or electricity. Also, I buy about 10 gallons of gas a month for my commute. For me, as it would with most commuters, it works.
Kent,
There is no one size fits all solution. Some consumers need a truck, some need an SUV, and still others who need to compensate for big egos need sports cars. So this plug-in won't work for you, there will be more on the way. Plug-ins work so well they will not go away. I've get over 100 mpg in mine. You have to remember there are many, many people who just don't drive very much and an 8 mile range maybe all they need to dive a day, so they may never need buy gas again. Other plug-ins will come in 15, 30, 45 ranges, or even more. You will have to find the one that will work for you, and if not, too bad for you as everyone around you will save their money and you will continually have to pay more to drive the same distance as someone else.
I have driven a plug-in for six months now and I can tell you, they are not for everyone. Regardless of your stand one Global Warming, the Environment, or buying foreign resources, I think you can agree that burning oil and throwing
THose Prius plug-ins are ridiculous - they barely get 8 miles of gasoline-free driving and are totally inadequate as test vehicles. The good news is that the whole business is nothing more than a scam to convince people that Toyota will have a plug-in anytime soon. The soonest would be 2011, and that is unlikely, since Toyota has no batteries that are adequate. Anyone who has folowed the bizarre series of claims by Toyota over the past two months knows that this is a dysfunctional company when it comes to plug-in technology. They are getting trounced both by GM (with
four plugs-in ready by 2009 and 2010) and Chinese automaker BYD, which will not only produce a plug-in sooner than Toyota (2008), but will price its very attractive car thousands below Toyota's regular Prius and will get 7 times the eelctric mileage that Toyota's "test plug-in Prius" vehicles will get. Toyota is hardly any better than Honda, which now argues that only its hybrids make sense and that it will not build a p