• Home
• Overview
• Light-Duty Vehicles
  • Alternative Fuel Vehicles
  • Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles
  • Full-Size Electric Vehicles
  • Hybrid Electric Vehicles
  • Micro Hybrid Vehicles
  • ARRA Vehicle and Infrastructure Projects
  • Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) Testing
  • Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles
    • Specifications & Test Procedures
    • Testing Reports
  • Neighborhood Electric Vehicles
  • Urban Electric Vehicles
• Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles
• Publications
• Related Links

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles

DOE's Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity (AVTA), Idaho National Laboratory (INL), and testing partner Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation initiated Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) testing activities during the second half of 2006. PHEVs are similar to hybrid electric vehicles with a few exceptions - PHEVs have much larger battery packs, allowing for increased all-electric and/or electric-assist range, and PHEVs must be connected to the electric grid to fully recharge the onboard battery packs. The AVTA's PHEV activities include:

• Development of PHEV Integrated Test Plan and Evaluation Program, which is used to conduct accelerated onroad and baseline performance (dynamometer and test track) testing.
• Testing is being conducted on nine PHEV models, with most of the PHEVs from conversion companies. The conversion companies and the base models include: the Hymotion Prius, Hymotion Escape, EnergyCS Prius, Renault Kangoo, HybridsPlus Escape, HybridsPlus Prius, Electrovaya Escape, Green Car Company Prius, and E85 capable Ford Escape. 
• Onroad data collection has started for more than 50 PHVs already deployed with onboard data loggers being used to capture real-world fleet operations data, including vehicle operations and charging profiles. All of the testing results will be posted on these AVTA Web pages.