Green at WIRED NextFest: Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 10. 1.08
Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid
Unfortunately, no big revelations about the next-generation Toyota Prius at NextFest. We did learn that Toyota will modify some Prius hybrids to turn them into plug-in hybrids for fleet testing. These models will use lithium-ion battery packs, though the upcoming official Toyota plug-in hybrid will still use NiMH batteries like the current Prius (they store less power than li-ion, but Toyota tells us that they don't think li-ion is ready to meet their requirements for full scale deployment yet).
Here you can see the modified plug-in Prius they had on display.
It basically looks like a regular Prius except for this.
Toyota wanted to make sure that we knew that the car could be plugged into any ol' regular electric outlet.
Here we have a modified plug-in Prius charging off solar panels. This one is from Japan.
Here is what the screen looks like while it's charging.
Commercial production of Toyota plug-in hybrids should begin in 2010. Lets hope that in the meantime they'll make quicker-than-expected progress on the batteries (they have a partnership with Panasonic to develop new chemistries) and that they will use something better than NiMH.
WIRED NextFest 2008
WIRED NextFest is taking place in Chicago's Millenium Park between Saturday, September 27 and Sunday, October 12. It is free and open to the public. Just look for the big blue tent.
Via Toyota
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I can't wait for Toyota to begin selling these! I've been stashing cash away ever since I heard about these. Hopefully, I can afford to purchase one as soon as I graduate from college in 2011.
This is awesome! Living in Miami, a city that recycling is not readily available for everyone, but green living is slowly but surely creeping in. There is a local group of 2 guys called the Miami EV Project (www.miamievproject.com) who are making converting a gas car into electric COOL and simple for all. Meaning- you don't need to buy an electric car, but are following the Reduse, reuse, recycle theory! Check it out and see how amazing this project is and how they are involving the commuinty. We don't need to wait for Toyota to make a car- you can do it yourself!!!!
:)
This is awesome! Living in Miami, a city that recycling is not readily available for everyone, but green living is slowly but surely creeping in. There is a local group of 2 guys called the Miami EV Project (www.miamievproject.com) who are making converting a gas car into electric COOL and simple for all. Meaning- you don't need to buy an electric car, but are following the Reduse, reuse, recycle theory! Check it out and see how amazing this project is and how they are involving the commuinty. We don't need to wait for Toyota to make a car- you can do it yourself!!!!
:)
Total anachronism:
Maybe 9 miles of sub 40mph electric range.
ICE still sends power to the wheels.
Toy should be ashamed. They had the clear lead and now they will conceded to GM when the Volt soundly trounces this antiquated piece of junk.
Willy, how about we wait for the Volt to actually go on sale? That's more than a year away.
Toyota has plenty of time.
Yes, the ICE still sends power to the wheels. But if Toyota has everything setup right, I'm sure that the Prius can run first in pure EV mode for an extended period of time before the battery reaches a certain point of discharge or the car crosses some speed threshold, then it could behave like a normal Prius. And with the possibility of a new tax credit for plug-in hybrid vehicles (min. 4kw battery = $4,168 tax credit, max (ie. Chevy Volt ~ 16kw) = $7,500), then it can make the price comparable to that of a non-plug in Prius, depending on what size battery they choose to drop-in the cargo area.
I personally expect to see at least an all EV range of 10 miles or more. I suspect that it would be closer to 20 - 30 miles with a max speed of 55mph before switching to a blended mode. This is plenty for those who live in cities or who don't travel very far from home.
And even when you are on the highway, I wouldn't be surprised if Toyota could design the Prius to use the extra energy in the battery to improve highway fuel economy (possibly in the area of about 100 mpg). After all, the Prius is tried and proven. If a Prius is good, a Plug-in Prius has to be better, and best of all, an all-electric Prius!
Jeremiah,
Sure they could, but they are not. Toy already said maybe 9 mile range at under 40mph for the PHEV Prius. Epic FAIL in my book.
You have to remember that the Plug-in Prius that Toyota is testing has two (2) standard Prius NiMh batteries in the cargo area. If, and quite possibly, Toyota can build a single battery, in a smaller, lighter format while increasing the storage capacity of it, then they could give it a somewhat further range, say 15-20 miles. Then when Toyota has everything worked out with Lithium Ion batteries, they could potentially double the range.
However, for the time being, I can imagine that Toyota wants to prove that the concept of plugging your car in at night works. When they are ready to bring them to market, I believe that they will sell them with lithium batteries.
I'm sure they want to test reliability of the hybrid components under extended EV operating conditions.
Don't bash them for testing a vehicle that isn't what they are going to be selling to consumers. What they finally bring to market will surely be much better.
From your lips to God's ears, I guess. I just assume they fear the Volt and step up to the plate with something at least as good. Competition means better stuff for all us pee-ons.
Don't be such a Debby Downer, Woolly Willy. I agree, it makes sense for Toyota to demonstrate how the battery can stand up to daily use. I can see the fleet sales with the smaller battery, while not vastly improving fuel economy on longer trips, allowing Toyota to gather enough data about how the battery performs under a daily cycle. This is much cheaper because it doesn't require them to sell them with higher capacity batteries (which would most likely increase the cost and drive interested companies away from them). And yes, competition from the Volt will hopefully encourage them to do much better job on the consumer version, and hopefully price it very competitively with the Volt. I wouldn't mind seeing a plug-in hybrid from Honda (perhaps based on the original two-seater Insight and for families a sedan version), however, I suppose that may just be a pipe-dream.