Google invests in plug-in hybrid cars
Pretty soon, if you Google “hybrid car,” one of the search results may be Google.
Google Inc. on Monday unveiled a program to speed up the development of so-called plug-in hybrids, which can run for limited periods on electric power and deliver significantly better fuel economy than the Toyota Prius and other hybrid vehicles.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. June 21, 2007 For The Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday June 21, 2007 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 33 words Type of Material: Correction
Google push: An article in the Business section on Tuesday about Google.org’s grants to spur development of “plug-in” hybrid vehicles referred to the Electric Power Research Institute as the Electric Power Research Assn.
The search-engine giant’s philanthropic arm, Google.org, said it had awarded grants totaling $1 million to several organizations, including the Electric Power Research Assn. and the Brookings Institution, to advance plug-in development and commercialization. And it has set aside $10 million to support research and development projects or to invest in companies pursuing plug-in hybrids and related technologies.
“We are hopeful that we can demonstrate that they have a lot of reasons to accelerate their commitment to plug-in hybrids,” said Dan Reicher, head of Google.org’s climate change program. The goal, Reicher said, is to cut gasoline consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
A standard gas-electric hybrid can run solely on electricity at low speeds for short distances. Experimental plug-in models, equipped with larger battery packs that can be recharged when not on the road, can travel several miles at highway speeds on electric power and revert to gasoline power when needed.
Google.org released the results of a pilot project in which Priuses converted to plug-in operation achieved average fuel economy of 70 to 75 miles per gallon. The new Environmental Protection Agency estimate for an unmodified Prius is 46 mpg in combined city-highway driving, and the average for all 2006 model cars sold in the U.S. was 24.6 mpg.
“When you look at the miles-per-gallon improvement over regular hybrids, it’s very compelling,” Reicher said. “And when you look at the fuel economy versus the regular fleet, it’s astounding.”
Although conventional hybrids remain a small slice of the U.S. auto market at 2.4%, sales more than doubled during the first five months of the year as gasoline prices jumped.
Toyota Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and other carmakers have said they plan to produce plug-in hybrids, but based on current product schedules it could be several years before they are widely available.
The plug-in hybrid program is the first major initiative for Google.org, a $1-billion effort set up by Google in 2005 to finance work in three main areas: climate change, healthcare and global economic development.
On Monday, Google also switched on a 1.6-megawatt solar installation at its corporate headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. The solar power will be used in part to recharge Google’s corporate fleet of plug-in hybrids, which it will lease through Enterprise Rent-A-Car Co.
