Google Leading the Way for Plug-In Hybrid Car Development

By Anastacia Mott Austin

The time has come for hybrid automobiles to move from the vision of the future to an actuality, and Google.org is leading the way.

Instead of waiting around for existing automakers and government approval for the future of environmentally conscious vehicles, Google has taken matters into its own hands.

The philanthropic branch of Google, Google.org has given out over $1 million in grants through their RechargeIT program to developers promoting awareness and new technology for plug-in hybrid cars.

Seen as the trend of the future, plug-ins would replace current gasoline-battery hybrid engines by running almost solely on electric power that would use the gasoline engine only to recharge the car’s electric battery. The cars would then need to be recharged at night.

In preliminary test trials, the chiefly electric-run engines were up to 30 mpg more efficient than current hybrid models.

Known for its green practices, Google has also begun running its immense solar panel grid at the organization’s California corporation. The solar structure will power an experimental fleet of plug-in vehicles in a partnership between Google.org and A123Systems/Hymotion.

In addition, Google says that the cars would ideally be able to sell back their stored power to the national power grid, through a program called V2G, or "vehicle-to-grid." "Clean energy technology can dramatically shift how we make and use energy for out cars and homes by charging cars through an electric grid powered by solar or other renewable energy sources, and selling power back to the electric grid when it’s need most," said the executive director of Google.org, Dr. Larry Brilliant. "This approach can quadruple the fuel efficiency of cars on the road today and improve grid stability."

Automakers, jumping on the plug-in bandwagon, don’t want to be left behind. GM, hurt by accusations made in last year’s sleeper hit movie "Who Killed the Electric Car?" has promised a new plug-in version of its Saturn Vue SUV, though there is no production date as of yet. GM is also developing a more extensive version of the Chevrolet Volt, which sports an all-electric engine with a generator-only gasoline engine. Nissan says it is working on development of the lithium-ion battery that would likely be used in plug-in hybrids. Chrysler, Saturn, and Toyota have also all unveiled plans to make plug-in hybrids.

The plug-in versions of hybrid vehicles would need more sophisticated batteries than those currently used in hybrids on the road, and research indicates that the lithium-ion battery is the way to go.

Currently used in laptops and cell phones, lithium-ion batteries are more compact and lighter than the nickel metal hydride batteries currently used in hybrids. Though more research is needed, several lithium-ion battery-run hybrids are being tested. One battery company is making a lithium-ion battery pack and selling it to Toyota Prius owners who want to convert their nickel metal hydride battery hybrids into plug-ins.

One of the effects of Google.org’s plan has had its intended outcome; to pressure automakers into looking at public demand for alternative-fuel and environmentally-conscious vehicles. The potential ability to sell back excess stored power is a definite bonus. Owners of plug-in hybrids could sell back as much as $3,000 worth of excess power per year.

"Linking the U.S. transportation system to the electricity grid maximizes the efficiency of our energy system," wrote Dan Reicher, the director of Climate and Energy Initiatives for Google.org, on the company’s website. "Our goal is to demonstrate the plug-in hybrid and V2G technology, get people excited about having their own plug-in hybrid, and encourage car companies to start building them soon."

Leave it to one of the virtual super-highway superpowers to influence what happens on the real-world roads. Adds Reicher, "There’s an awful lot of good for the environment to be done."