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Toyota to Provide PHEVs to Two UC Campuses
25 July 2007
Toyota Motor Sales, USA will provide Toyota plug-in (PHEV) hybrid prototypes (earlier post) to the Advanced Power and Energy Program at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), as part of its on-going sustainable mobility development program with the two UC campuses.
Earlier, Toyota announced that the Japan Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport has certified prototype plug-in hybrid vehicles for use of similar testing on Japan public roads.
Toyota has worked with both universities on the development of advanced technology and alternative-fuel vehicles, including demonstration and research programs involving fuel cell vehicles, gas-electric hybrids and pure electric vehicles.
This next phase of its sustainable mobility partnership involving plug-in hybrid vehicles will be conducted in conjunction with the Alternative Fuel Incentive Program jointly developed by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the California Energy Commission (CEC). The goal of this program, which was authorized under California Assembly Bill 1811, is to encourage the use and production of alternative fuels and vehicles.
Our goal with this program is to evaluate various advanced vehicle technologies, as well as key factors such as infrastructure, intelligent transportation systems, and urban design. The Toyota Prius convinced mainstream consumers on the merits of hybrids. Although there is much work to be done with plug-ins, we see this pilot program as a significant step in the advancement of the technology.
—Dave Illingworth, Senior Vice President and Chief Planning Officer for TMS
The prototype plug-in is a Prius with a larger NiMH battery pack supporting an all-electric range of 13 km (8 miles).
July 25, 2007 in Brief | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)
Comments
Posted by: NeilPackrat | July 25, 2007 at 01:20 PM
I'd like Toyota to announce they're working with an AltairNano or some other such company to come up with a safe lithium-based battery that doesn't overheat/ignite during recharge.
All it will take is 1 or 2 incidents and the car's reputation will be sealed. This will become a continuing PR nightmare for plug-ins that use lithium-ion batteries and we just can't afford this kind of setback.
Toyota really needs to get in front of this one.
Posted by: Tweaty555 | July 25, 2007 at 02:48 PM
My mistake...I thought the Prius was going the L-I batteries route, like the Tesla.
Posted by: Tweaty555 | July 25, 2007 at 02:55 PM
I would suspect that Toyota still are going down the Lithium route
and this car is just a stop gap to test the market , the new model
should boost sales dramatically and also open the door for easier
conversion.
Posted by: andrichrose | July 25, 2007 at 03:05 PM
I'm pretty sure Toyota doesn't have to parter with an outside battery company because they already are working with /have partial ownership of the Panasonic battery division in Japan.
I would bet that they are working on Li ion batteries there.
Posted by: jrojai | July 26, 2007 at 06:46 AM
AFAIK Panasonic is still working with Cobalt. If they want to get Lithium into their cars in a reasonable time frame they may have to license a better chemistry.
Posted by: NeilPackrat | July 26, 2007 at 08:34 AM
PanasonicEV/Toyota working with cobalt is just crazy. I've read that too, but I just can't believe that a safety obsessed manufacturer like Toyota would really do that.
Toshiba announced a quick-charge nanotech LiIon about 3 years ago. As Toyota likes to source from inside Japan whenever they can, perhaps they will be prepared to lose a little less face by looking to Toshiba (rather than Altair/A123) for the tech licensing?
Posted by: clett | July 27, 2007 at 06:51 AM
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I'm a little surprised that they don't have one going to Andy Frank at UC Davis for evaluation (and probably some suggestions). But then he's built enough of his own I suppose.