Report: Toyota and EDF to Develop Recharging Points for Plug-ins
01 September 2007
The Financial Times reports that Toyota and French utility EDF next week will announce an agreement to develop recharging points to serve the plug-in hybrid cars Toyota plans to roll out in a few years’ time.
EDF’s deal with Toyota is expected to cover France initially but could be extended to other countries. The group also owns utility companies in Germany, Italy and the UK. Having adequate electricity infrastructure for the cars is important in Europe, where more motorists park on city streets overnight than in the US.
In July, Toyota announced it had developed a plug-in version of the Prius hybrid using NiMH batteries and became the first manufacturer to have one certified for use on public roads in Japan. (Earlier post.)
Surely this is very important - if we are to extend the range of PHEVs or BEVs.
They will have to have 2 charging rates: one for "E-stations" and one for home use.
We will need standards for this, or we will end up with a mess. Already europe uses 230V and the US uses 110V so this means different home charging standards.
The last thing we want is a separate "station" voltage and amperage.
If you could get charging stations in places of work, you could double the range of PHEVs - it is not rocket science, just organization and standards.
Posted by: mahonj | 02 September 2007 at 05:20 AM
This is excellent, very important news. The biggest EV news of 2007 so far. France already has the most EV experience in the world, with over 6,000 EVs made by Heuliez for Peugeot and Citroen in the 90s. Recharging points were available in La Rochelle and other cities - the long running municipal EV trial may even still be going on in La Rochelle. France gets 70% of its electricity from nuclear and (used to) export a lot of electricity.
Godd news.
Posted by: Emphyrio | 02 September 2007 at 06:34 AM
mahonj:
Don't forget that every home in USA and Canada is already equipped with 220 VAC.
My brand new garage is already equipped with a 220VAC 20 Amps outlet (about 4.4 KWh) + option to add an electronic timer, for my future PHEV. This will be sufficient to recharge a 15 to 20 KWh battery pack overnight in about 4 to 5 hours. A Prius size PHEV could run for about 100 to 125 Km with this usable charge.
Posted by: | 02 September 2007 at 09:21 AM
What is needed is a smart charger which can charge at night (easy) or when there is excess wind energy going (harder).
For day time charging, you would want to skip the daily peak (in Ireland 5-7 pm) unless you really needed it.
The big win here is to make the charger use the lowest price electricity on an hourly basis while prolonging battery life.
Also, the charger / car could learn your driving habits and only charge what is needed (especially during the day).
If we put in a lot of wind, we will have to do a lot of smart demand stuff like this to get the most out of it.
Ditto for tidal (I assume) if they ever manage to scale it.
Posted by: mahonj | 02 September 2007 at 02:43 PM
I own a Prius and am looking forward to the day I will be able to purchase a PHEV!!!
Posted by: Peter Copani | 03 September 2007 at 05:05 AM
In sweden it is pretty comon for companies to provide their employees with a 220V outlet for each parking space, to encourage the use of engine warmers in the winter. Hence, there would be no problem for these employees to recharge the PHEV:s while working (given that the company approves).
Posted by: Lars | 03 September 2007 at 12:01 PM