Plug and play - the car of the future

Daily Examiner
Friday 13/6/2008 Page: 15

MELBOURNE: A car of the future, which can be charged from a household power point, has been unveiled in Melbourne after being converted into a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle by an Australian university team. The green car, which can be charged directly from the domestic power grid, was shown off by green company Szencorp and Sydney University of Technology (UTS). The PHEV uses a converted Toyota Prius, fitted with extra batteries for greater storage and a power socket so it can be charged directly from the grid.

Chris Dunstan, UTS project director, said the PHEV could offer not only much lower fuel bills but also the flexibility of storing wind power and solar energy at times. "Plug-in hybrid cars have the potential to revolutionise not only how we drive but how we generate and use electricity in our homes and workplaces," Mr Dunstan said. "This car heralds a not-too-distant future where householders will charge up their cars from solar panels on their roof and then pump surplus power from their car back into the grid on days of high peak power demand.

"If charged up on renewable energy, the PHEV can dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as it can run on electricity for over 30km, the average daily commute of many Australian motorists. "For longer trips, it simply switches back to normal hybrid operation," he said. The converted car combines attributes of electric cars that costs less to run than petrol vehicles, while using renewable energy, with the efficiency of hybrid vehicles that can travel up to 1000km without refuelling.

It can be charged from a normal household power point. Toyota this week announced it would start producing hybrid Camrys at its Melbourne plant, with the first cars due to roll off the production line in early 2010, while General Motors has also announced a plug-in electric car which it has not ruled out selling in Australia.