"Plug-In 2008: A Short Drive to Tomorrow" is the world's first convention dedicated exclusively to plug-in hybrid technology. The event tales place next week, July 21-24, in San Jose, CA.

See the full agenda of speakers and further details here.

The convention is a testament to how quickly plug-In hybrid technology is coming of age. It was only in 2004 that a group of curious mechanics decided to see what would happen if they installed a larger battery in their Toyota Prius. They succeeded in boosting the gas mileage to an average of 100 mpg. In the short years that followed, the technology has gathered support from major decision-makers and media pundits around the country. These mechanics helped spawn the budding industry of plug-in hybrid conversion companies and, quite possibly, nudged major industry players in this direction. Of course, we now know these legendary tinkerers as the founders of the plug-in hybrid advocacy group, CalCars.

Next week should be exciting. I will most likely be there as well, since I am currently writing my Ph.D. dissertation on the "Clean Car Movement." As a new member of the AutoblogGreen team, I look forward to bringing our readers the latest news on the most innovative technology and the people behind it.

The first known instance of a plug-in hybrid car going up in flames occurred on June 7 in Columbia, South Carolina to a 2008 Prius that had been converted to plug-in capability for the Central Electric Power Cooperative. The conversion was performed with a Hybrids-Plus PHEV15 conversion kit that uses an A123 Systems lithium ion battery pack. The incident is still under investigation by Phoenix, Arizona-based Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation. Initial information indicates the fire may have been triggered by something related to the on-board battery charger and the car had previously experienced some mechanical issues related to that.

Unfortunately, the car didn't have a data logging system installed which might have helped to isolate the cause. No one was injured and the battery pack sustained some damage but was apparently intact and functional - implying that it was not the cause of the fire. What this points out is that before plug-in hybrids and EVs are brought to market a lot of engineering and validation testing needs to be done to ensure that all systems in the car are safe, durable and properly integrated. This is actually the part of vehicle development that often takes the most time. It's not just the batteries that have to work, but all the bits and pieces around it. That's why it's taking almost four years from concept to production for the Volt and why Toyota is in no rush to bring the PHEV Prius to market.

[Source: Cooperative Research Network, thanks to the un-named reader for the tip!]

EnerDel's lithium-titanate battery has been independently tested by the Center for Transportation Research of the
Illinois-based Argonne National Laboratory. For the tests, a stock Toyota Prius had its nickel metal hydride battery pack replaced with a new 1kWh lithium ion unit from EnerDel. No problems were reported, despite the fact that no additional cooling modifications were made to the vehicle or battery pack. Additionally, a test was run which was intended to predict what the battery pack would be capable of if the Prius were converted to a Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV). Test results were promising, with the EnerDel-equipped Prius achieving 77.41 miles per gallon on the city test. Although these results are just an approximation of what a PHEV Prius could offer, they are still promising. Also of note is the fact that internal resistance of the pack was reduced by sixty-seven percent over the stock Prius pack.

According to the press release pasted after the break, EnerDel's pack could be half the size of the Prius' stock pack while still offering the same performance, meaning that a similar-sized pack as stock would offer twice the power potential. Thanks for the tip, Jan!

Last year, Google made some waves when they announced the RechargeIT project to convert a fleet of Toyota Priuses and Ford Escape hybrids to plug-in capability. The company has just issued their first progress report on the program, and the results may be disappointing for those promoting plug-in conversions. Right now the only way to get a plug-in hybrid is to buy an off-the shelf model like the Prius or Escape and than install a $10-15,000 conversion kit. Unfortunately, as we learned from a recent interview with GM's Pete Savagian, a conversion PHEV provides a limited additional benefit over a conventional parallel hybrid because the motors typically don't have enough power to drive the vehicle under most conditions without the engine turning on.

The other issue is that as fuel efficiency increases, the incremental savings in fuel use actually decrease. This is more apparent if you use the European units of fuel consumption which is measured in L/100km. If consumption is reduced from 12L/100km (19.6mpg) to 6L/100km (39.2mpg) you would save 6L on a 100km trip. Doubling mileage again going to 3L/100km (78.2mpg) only saves an additional 3L. This is apparent when you take an already efficient car like the Prius which starts at 44.6mpg and increase it to the 66.2mpg that Google saw. The result over 12,000 miles of annual driving is 88 gallons of fuel saved. At $3/gal, that's $158/year (after factoring in electricity costs). At that rate the $15,000 conversion would take 95 years to recover the cost. Ouch.

Google points out that most of the driving was on short runs where the engine often runs early in the drive to power certain vehicle subsystems. Longer runs would increase the mileage further, but you still have the issue of diminishing returns. With gas at $5/gal and a conversion cost of $10,000, the payback drops to a mere thirty years. Until vehicles are actually engineered from the ground up as PHEVs and mass produced to bring down cost, the cost benefits simply won't be realized by people doing conversions. Reduced emissions and oil use, though, should still take place.

[Source: Google.org via CNet]

General Motors is forging ahead with lithium ion battery development for both the plug-in hybrid Saturn Vue
and the Chevrolet Volt. Meanwhile Toyota's executive vice president for R&D, Kazuo Okamoto is insisting (subs req'd) that they are still too hazardous for automotive use.

Toyota is still working on getting better performance out of the nickel metal hydride batteries they use in their current hybrids. Plug-in hybrids do more cycling of the battery as they charge and discharge than current hybrids. That puts more strain on the battery and raises temperatures. For now, Toyota is testing plug-in Priuses with higher capacity NiMH batteries and won't give a timeline for moving to lithium. Okamoto also listed cost as an additional factor limiting lithium.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req'd]

From DigInfo, we get our first video glimpse of the new plug-in Prius that Toyoto is testing in Japan. DigInfo went to the Toyota New Powertrain Conference and brought back a short report. There aren't any new facts (all that's known about the car is in the links below), but we at least can now see the PHEV Prius in all of its YouTube glory. Enjoy.

Related:

• Specs of the plug-in Prius Toyota is testing in Japan
• Toyota gets Japanese approval for PHEV Prius road tests
• Toyota will test plug-in Prius, with li-ion packs, in Japan

[Source: DigInfo, h/t to Linton and HUGG]

I'm just going to assume you've heard that Toyota is testing a plug-in Prius on public roads in Japan. If this has slipped by you, check out the links below. Otherwise, you know that the PHEV uses the standard nickel metal hydride batteries, not new and fancy lithium ion batteries. So, what does the plug-in NiMH give you? BusinessWeek fills us in.

First, the PHEV is 100 kilograms (220 pounds) heavier than the standard Prius. The larger battery means there's no room for a spare tire. The test models can go just 13 kilometers on electric power alone, and the 1.5-liter gas engine kicks in any time the speed goes over 100 kmh (the current Prius' gas engine starts up at 68 kmh). The batteries recharge in 60-90 minutes at 200 volts or 3-4 hours at 100 volts.

If emissions are all you're concerned about, the PHEV Prius looks good. Probably. Even with the excess weight and figuring in "emissions created in the production of the electricity used to recharge the batteries" (BusinessWeek's phrase), is cleaner than current hybrids. BusinessWeek explains the differences depending on where you plug it in:

However, the level of emissions reduction varies from country to country, depending on how the electricity is produced. In France, which relies heavily on nuclear power, the projected carbon dioxide reduction could be as much 45%, Toyota estimates. But in the U.S., where most energy is created by burning fossil fuels, the benefits are far smaller, at an estimated 4%. Toyota says those benefits could be boosted by the use of biofuels, which the plug-in Prius accepts.

So, the plug-in Prius - as it's being tested right now - nets us just four percent decrease in CO2 emissions. The good news is that that number can only get greener.

Related:

• Toyota gets Japanese approval for PHEV Prius road tests
• Toyota will test plug-in Prius, with li-ion packs, in Japan

[Source: BusinessWeek]

Pushed by talk in Congress about possibly giving incentives to taxpayers for converting standard hybrids to plug-in hybrids, Toyota today announced their reasons for not supporting PHEVs. In a memo written by Charles E. Ing, Director, Government Affairs Toyota Motor North America, and posted over at pro-PHEV advocates CalCars, Toyota says that, "PHEV converters should comply with existing standards governing second stage manufacturers, if applicable, and, NHTSA and EPA should be required to establish new regulations for certification of conversions of used vehicles. In other words, the product liability and warranty risk, should be assumed by the converter. The government should assure that there be no degradation in emissions and vehicle safety before it provides taxpayer incentives."

Toyota's main areas of concern for PHEV conversions are as follows:

• The cars will no longer be compliant with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
• Most conversions use lithium batteries, which Toyota has decided are not good.
• There is an increased fire risk and injury in an accident, and the spare tire is usually removed.
• The extra batteries have an adverse effect on the rear suspension.
• The warranty is voided by the installation of PHEV systems.

CalCars has a list of good responses to these claims, including the fact that Toyota left out the bit about how any incentives offered by the FREEDOM Act would apply only to cars that had passed crash tests. You can read them all here (at bottom of page).

[Source: CalCars]

Here's a peek into what makes this whole share-everything/Web 2.0 thing pretty cool: we can ride along with one guy, somewhere in Seattle (username davem5321 on YouTube), who is cranking out 1000+ miles from one tank of gas in his Prius. Granted, it's a modified plug-in Prius, but you can tell he's getting serious about his hypermiling, not only using the Prius' built in record-keeping, but also a hand-held GPS unit to keep track of his travels. In fact, davem5321 has been obsessively posting videos pretty regularly about his life with his PHEV Prius. I've added all his current videos, about 15 minutes worth total, in order after the break (note how he even gets a lightweight extension cord to keep weight down!) and you can keep an eye on future reports from him on his YouTube channel.

Related:

• Hypermiling your fuel economy - The greenest extreme sport for cars

[Source: YouTube, h/t to Linton]

Hot on the heels of A123Systems announcing that they would start selling plug-in hybrid conversion kits that are developed with Hymotion, A123 is now buying Hymotion outright. Hymotion developed and fabricates battery packs that can be installed in the spare tire well of a Toyota Prius. The battery packs have integrated battery charge management electronics. So far the Hymotion system has only be available to fleets but regular consumers will be able to buy them in 2008.

[Source: A123Systems]

EnergyCS is converting Toyota Prius hybrids to plug-in capability using lithium-ion batteries from Valence Technology for a test with the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD). AQMD is the air pollution agency for Southern California, and they want to increase the awareness of plug-in hybrids. The test vehicles are using a conversion kit desinged for 2004-07 Prius models. EnergyCS develops the control electronics and combines them with the Saphion phosphate based lithium-ion battery pack from Valence. The lithium ion pack increases the energy capacity by eighteen times over the original NiMH pack. AQMD currently has two of the plug-in Prius's and will be releasing the test results over the next few months.

[Source: TheAutoChannel]

AutoExpress magazine in the UK has a report in this week's issue about the next generation Toyota Prius. They are reporting that the new Prius will be switching from nickel metal hydride batteries to lithium ion batteries that have greater capacity in an even smaller size. With the smaller package, interior room of the new car should be improved, especially in the back seat. The improved power output of the lithium batteries will allow the car to run on electrons-only more often in urban traffic.

According to the magazine, Toyota engineers are targeting a mileage rating of 113 mpg, with improved 0-60 mph acceleration of less than 10 seconds. The internal combustion part of the drive train is reported to be a new turbocharged 1.8L lean burn four cylinder. The car may even get factory plug-in capability when it goes on sale in 2009 and now that GM has announced their intention to offer a plug-in hybrid Saturn Vue, this one may be a certainty. The styling is also reported to be revamped, with a spy photo in the print version of the magazine.

[Source: AutoExpress]