The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) recently announced 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 Department of Energy. The EPRI/ANL analysis will evaluate PHEVs, hybrids and conventional vehicles from environmental, cost, design and marketing perspectives. Some of the world's leading transportation experts will participate in the engineering and technical studies, which will be conducted at the two organizations' respective research facilities in Palo Alto, California, and Argonne, Illinois. The objective of the multi-year research project is to provide a balanced and authoritative study of the advantages of and 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 comprise key components of the study. The research project, 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 ANL study entitled "Hybrid Electric Vehicle Technology Assessment." The new project will look closely at the effect of PHEVs on the nation's economy and their viability from industrial and manufacturing perspectives. For more information, contact:
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