Utilities, GM team on plug-in hybrids

Partnership must resolve problems in time for electric vehicles’ debut in 2010.

David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — General Motors Corp. and a consortium of more than 30 electric utilities will announce today a partnership to speed the commercialization of plug-in vehicles.

The joint project of GM and the Electric Power Research Institute, which represents more than 30 electric utilities with operations in 37 states and three Canadian provinces, will work to resolve some of the thorny issues that must be worked out before plug-in vehicles begin hitting showrooms in late 2010.

Those issues include ensuring that infrastructure is in place for safe and convenient vehicle charging, raising public awareness of plug-in electric vehicles, and working with government leaders to ease the transition from petroleum to electricity as a fuel source, GM and the institute said in a statement.

The announcement of the partnership was to be made today in San Jose, Calif., at Plug-in 2008, a three-day conference. The institute includes DTE Energy in Michigan.

GM said the project, which it called the largest and most comprehensive between an automaker and the electric utility industry, will pave the way "for customers to realize the benefits of plug-in electric vehicles such as the Chevrolet Volt and Saturn Vue plug-in hybrid."

Arshad Mansoor, a vice president with the institute, said the "collaboration is critical in the development of standards that will lead to the widespread use of electricity as a transportation fuel."

GM is making a hefty wager on two vehicles that will run on electrical power — its Volt, an extended-range electric vehicle with a 40-mile range, and a Vue plug-in hybrid, an SUV with a battery-power range of about 10 miles. The automaker said it hopes to bring them to market by late 2010.

Recharging to be addressed

But before GM can bring tens of thousands of the vehicles to market, the automaker and power industry must figure out how people will recharge their cars, both at home and in public.

"If we’re going to prepare the market, providing accessible, reliable, convenient low-cost electricity for plug-in customers, and start educating the public about it, we’ve got to start now," said GM’s vice president of global program management, Jon Lauckner, in an interview Monday. "To make the Volt and the plug-in Vue succeed, that is going to take some work."

One big advantage to electric power is cost. Lauckner said the estimated cost per mile with electric power is 1 cent per mile in off-peak periods and 2 cents at peak periods, versus about 14 cents per mile at gasoline prices of more than $4 a gallon.

"It’s simple economics," Lauckner said.

6 groups to tackle issues

GM engineers and other company officials have formed six groups to work through the technical and other issues, Lauckner said. One group is focused on codes and uniform standards for recharging, as well as getting the nation’s electrical grid prepared for the plug-in onslaught.

The plug-in hybrid, which allows consumers to use electric power for distances of 10 miles to 40 miles, has won near-universal support from environmentalists, politicians and automakers — though many think it will take longer than late 2010 to have reliable enough batteries to mass market them.

Google, which co-sponsored another conference on plug-ins in Washington last month, has taken a major interest in the technology, and has converted four Toyota Prius hybrid-electric vehicles at its Mountain View, Calif., campus to plug-ins. The cars are averaging more than 65 miles per gallon and are charged by a solar-charging station.

Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama have lavished praise on GM for its Volt project and plug-in hybrids in general. Each supports tax breaks for the purchase of plug-in vehicles, which will be more expensive for years to come because of the expensive, larger batteries required.

Big 3 receive federal grants

GM and the Electric Power Research Institute last month received a $10 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy to create a plug-in demonstration program using the Saturn Vue. Working with the power institute, University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute and Michigan Economic Development Corp., GM won the money for a project to enhance lithium-ion battery packs, charging systems, powertrain development and vehicle integration.

Other automakers also have launched electric hybrid partnerships, including Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC. Last month Ford, said it had named Johnson Controls as the battery supplier to a test fleet of 20 plug-in hybrids it will put on the roads in California and New York by year’s end. Those two companies also won a $10 million Energy Department grant.

Chrysler plans to build 80 plug-in vehicles during three years, working with General Electric as part of a separate $10 million government-financed research project.

Deal highlights

 

• General Motors Corp. will collaborate with the nonprofit Electric Power Research Institute to accelerate the introduction of plug-in electric vehicles.
• Issues to be addressed: GM and the institute will collaborate on everything from codes and standards to grid capability, to ensure the electric infrastructure can support electric vehicle demands. The coalition will address safe and efficient vehicle charging, raise public awareness of plug-in electric vehicles and work with public policy leaders to enable a transition from petroleum to electricity as a fuel source.
  
  Sources: GM, Electric Power Research Institute