EPRI, Argonne To Assess Commercial Viability of Plug-in Hybrids

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and Argonne National Laboratory, two premier US research organizations, announced today a three-year collaborative agreement to conduct detailed analysis of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) aimed at assessing the commercial feasibility of this technology for the U.S. Department of Energy.

The EPRI and Argonne analysis will evaluate PHEVs, hybrids and conventional vehicles, assessing them from environmental, cost, design and marketing perspectives. The engineering and technical studies will be conducted at the two organization's respective research facilities in Palo Alto, Calif., and Argonne, Ill., and will involve the participation of some of the world's leading transportation experts.

The objective of the multi-year research project is to provide a balanced and authoritative study of both the advantages of and the challenges to the design and commercial production of PHEVs. An assessment of potential social benefits of PHEVs, including reductions in imported petroleum-based fuels, enhancement of American energy security and air quality improvement, will be key components of the study.

The research project, which is funded by the Department of Energy's Office of FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies, is the latest in ongoing formative research that began in 2001 with the EPRI study, “Comparing the Benefits and Impacts of Hybrid Electric Vehicle Options,” and the Argonne study “Hybrid Electric Vehicle Technology Assessment.” The new project will look carefully at the effect of PHEVs on the nation's economy, and their viability from an industrial and manufacturing perspective.