Charging PHEVs: More Power To The People

Toyota and GM are racing to bring a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle to market, and other car companies are trying to determine whether they want a piece of the PHEV pie or not. Ford has been working with Southern California Edison on its test PHEVs, although Ford is content to let others test the PHEV market first.

The Financial Times is now reporting that Japan will be building a nationwide recharging network for PHEVs, based on a device that Tokyo Electric Power says can recharge a vehicle's batteries in five minutes well enough to carry it 40 km. For the more patient souls in the crowd, a 10-minute charge will up the range to 60 km.

The discussion about charging standards is also taking place in the US. GM, Ford and other major manufacturers are working with the Electric Power Research Institute and a number of utilities across the nation to work out policy issues that will support a nationwide charging infrastructure here.

The fact remains that PHEVs will be on the market long before the charging infrastructure is in place, and the lack of such an infrastructure will be a hindrance to widespread adoption of the technologies here. Utilities are primarily interested in boosting electricity consumption at night when demand drops sharply. A large number of consumers will want to charge their vehicles during the day, while they're at work and charge them again at night, a regimen that doesn't fit quite as neatly into the hopes of utilities, whose infrastructure is already taxed by the heavy demand for air conditioning during the daytime hours.

Complicating the issue are the expansive geography of the US, compared to a nation like Japan, and the sheer number of utility companies that supply power across the US. Whether or not these organizations can work together remains to be seen, but the long-term viability of PHEVs and EVs depends upon our ability to erect a charging infrastructure that's widely accessible, reliable and relatively inexpensive to use.