Plug-ins in Minnesota?

One of the other meetings we attended while in St. Paul was the Legislative Task Force on Plug- in Electric Hybrid Vehicles (PHEV).  The Task Force was established by the legislature last year to identify barriers to plug-in hybrid vehicles and possible financial incentives to encourage Ford to produce such vehicles at its St. Paul plant. 

Plug-in hybrids are an advanced form of hybrid vehicle that allow for extended driving in an all-electric mode.  They do this by incorporating a larger battery pack and the ability to plug-in to an electric outlet to recharge the batteries.  Electric-drive offers the potential for more efficient use of energy to move the vehicle, though this partly depends on the energy source for the electric power used to charge the batteries (e.g. dirtly coal plants v. renewable energy like wind or hydropower).

Electric vehicles have largely failed in the past due to the cost of batteries and the limited range between charges.  Plug-ins largely resolve the range problem by providing a conventional engine as a back-up, but they still have been hampered by battery costs.  Rapid advances in battery technology have started to change the outlook, however, and many are predicting that cost-effective lithium-ion batteries may be ready for plug-in hybrid use within the next few years. 

Hopes for plug-in vehicles rose significantly recently when GM stole the show at this year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit with the unveiling of the Chevy Volt concept vehicle.  The Volt is a plug-in hybrid electric that uses an electric motor to drive the wheels rather than a transmission, which is called a series hybrid. When the battery pack’s charge is depleted a small internal combustion engine kicks in to power an electric generator.  This particular vehicle uses a flex-fuel engine that can run on ethanol, thereby eliminating the need to use oil GM says the Volt would be capable of driving 30 -40 miles in all-electric mode, achieving the equivalent of 150 mpg.  Combining the electric motor and the engine, should give the car a range of around 600 miles and at least 50 mpg. GM isn’t committing to produce the car yet, but says it is hopeful that batteries will be ready in about 3 years.

The prospects for convincing Ford to produce plug-in hybrid vehicles at the Twin Cities plant appear unlikely at this point, but it may not be too late for some other manfacturer to do so.  The Minnesota PHEV Task Force is continuing to explore ways to encourage the manufacture of plug-in hybrids within the state, and research being conducted by the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State University at Mankato may also help to attract plug-in manufacturing activity.  Whether it happens in Minnesota or elsewhere in the region, there’s clearly excitement building for this new technology.  We certainly hope it comes sooner, rather than later!