Since BEVs (Battery-powered all-Electric Vehicles) rely solely upon electric power, they especially benefit from public availabilty of charging stations.
An anonymous GCC commentator writes:
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.
The comment implies that with suitable precautions 220 would be the preferred way to recharge a plug-in hybrid. Whereas the standard in Europe is 220, the standard home outlet in the U.S. is 110. Yet the North American commentator is correct; every home in Canada and the United States already is equipped with 220 VAC. Certainly, for rapid charging 220 is preferable.
Green Car Congress relays a report from The Financial Times. Toyota and French utility EDF have announced an agreement to develop recharging points.
One might hope that not only will such public recharging stanchions serve the plug-in hybrid cars Toyota plans to roll out, but other plug-in hybrid vehicles as well. For instance, the Peugeot Hybride HDI could become a plug-in hybrid with very little modification. A growing selection of electric city cars is becoming available throughout the European Union. Since they rely solely upon electric power, such BEVs (Battery-powered all-Electric Vehicles), like the Blue Car, a prototype that a subsidiary of Pininfarina designed and built for Bolloré — a long-time French electric development comapny that has contracts with EDF — could benefit even more from public availability of charging stations.
Cleanova, a unit of the Dassault Groupe in France, with the help of Heulieux, are currently testing series hybrid vehicles with an eye toward offering them to the public in 2008. The test vehicle has a 55hp engine running a generator to charge the lithium ion battery, but it can also drive the vehicle in conjunction with the electric motor developed by Hydro-Québec’s affiliate, TM4. Cleanova claims a range of 120 miles on the battery and a top speed of 80 mph. They are testing batteries with capacities ranging from 16 to 30 kWh.
EDF, which is the French national electricity company, and the French government have subsidized conversion of regular production cars (such as the Peugeot 106) into EVs. Recharging points have been available in La Rochelle and other cities as part of a long running, municipal EV trial.
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.
After plug-in conversions started to appear, Toyota now has become the first manufacturer to have a plug-in hybrid certified for use on public roads in Japan. The plug-in version of the Prius hybrid uses a larger NiMH battery pack than the standard Prius. It has a limited all-electric range of eight miles, and certainly a greater range is possible at present. Nevertheless, it is a start.
One example of the connection between the Grid, renewable energy, and transportation is the development of solar car ports.
Back in the days of the EV1, an inductive charging station, the LPI MAGNE CHARGE, was developed . The California Air Resources Board favored parking meters that would allow for electric vehicle charging.
Evidence of the initial efforts to distribute plug-in connections still exist and even a few Magne Chargers. Last June a sharp-eyed observer saw parked in a LAX garage a Nissan Altra Electric. Its Li-ion batteries were being charged with a small-paddle charger. GM / Nissan / Toyota favored the paddle charger, but eventually were overruled in favor of a direct connection.
