June 10th, 2009
Ford plugs in
Ford Motor is providing some test cars to Hydro-Quebec, a large electricity company in Canada. These are Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles which the insiders insist on initialling as PHEVs. The Ford PHEV cars are in the Escape model line.
Courtesy: Ford Motor
Ford, in collaboration with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), is undertaking a three-year test program on the Ford Escape PHEV designed to develop and evaluate technical approaches for integrating PHEVs into the electric grid. EPRI has identified nine utilities across North America to test drive the vehicles and collect data on battery technology, vehicle systems, customer use and grid infrastructure. In total, Ford will provide 21 vehicles for the real-world trials. Hydro-Québec’s the only Canadian company in Ford’s PHEV Program.
Ford began working on this three years ago. One early supporter was Chicago-area utility, ComEd. Here are some of the other American organizations street testing the Escape PHEVs: Southern California Edison, New York Power Authority, Consolidated Edison of New York, American Electric Power of Columbus, Ohio, Progress Energy of Raleigh, N.C., DTE Energy of Detroit , National Grid of Waltham, Mass. New York State Energy and Research Development Authority.
The Ford PHEV is essentially a direct competitor to the plug-ins planned by Toyota for its Prius line. Perhaps feeling the pressure from Ford, Toyota’s now rushing to get some of its plug-ins onto the street this year.
Loading ...When driven for the first 30 miles (48 km) following a full charge, the Ford Escape PHEV can achieve up to 120 mpg (2 L /100 km) when driven on surface streets. The vehicle’s not range limited by the amount of charge available in the high-voltage lithium-ion battery, because once the charge in the battery has been depleted, the vehicle continues to operate as a fuel efficient, standard Ford Escape Hybrid. The transition is automatic and unnoticeable to the driver.
In the beginning the lack of range limit will make these PHEVs more attractive to some buyers than the strictly electric car that has no back-up power when the battery runs down.
Ford has committed to introducing the PHEV to the public in 2012. The Escapes will be built at three former Ford truck plants: in Mexico, Louisville and Wayne, Michigan.
A newsman since 1969, Harry Fuller has worked for CBS, ABC, CNBC Europe, CNET and was founding news director at TechTV. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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