Smart comms system for mass EV market

As part of a bid to solve this and help to make recharging easy and efficient for consumers, Ford has begun fitting its US fleet of plug-in hybrid Escape SUVs with a communications package allowing cars to 'talk' to the grid. It has delivered the first such vehicle to Ohio-based utility partner American Electric Power for testing, with more due for delivery to other partners throughout North America shortly.

Ford's system functions through the car's internal computer, via its in-dash touchscreen interface. Plugging the vehicle in allows the battery pack to talk to the grid through a wifi-equipped 'smart meter'. The system does the maths and tells the driver when the car should next recharge, for how long and the best utility rate for keeping the cost down. It allows the operator to make choices such as off-peak charging, or the option to plug in only when the grid is using 'green' power from renewable sources such as wind or solar.

The system hails from broad-scale research into battery technologies, vehicle management systems, customer usage and grid infrastructure. Ford has signed a complex matrix of deals for the purpose with the power suppliers, authorities and regulators to investigate the potential uses, benefits and shortcomings of connectivity between vehicles and the grid, to help speed up consumer acceptance of plug-ins.

Key partners include the US Department of Energy, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the New York Power Authority, the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority, a host of power utilities nationwide and Canada's largest power maker, Hydro-Québec. Since 2007, between them they've put in around 120,000 km of plug-in hybrid testing.

With EVs set to spread rapidly through the commercial car market over the next several years, there's an increasing urgency to find ways to minimise the impact on electricity supply infrastructures. The Ford system is designed to help owners program their recharging schedules according to the needs of each car and its driver, and power utility charging rates.

It's also aimed at overcoming a serious bugbear currently facing the industry: recharging away from home. The auto industry knows that to make plug-in hybrids and EVs work, recharging needs to be comparable with refuelling at a petrol station – that is, as they describe it, "as quick and easy as plugging in and swiping a credit card."

Nancy Gioia, Ford's director of sustainable mobility technologies told media in a statement that making a national EV fleet a viable proposition takes extensive collaboration between car makers and power utilities.

"It's not something a car company can achieve on its own," she said. "Developing and producing the vehicles is just one part of the equation. We are well on our way to delivering the vehicles, but for widespread adoption the infrastructure needs to be in place and we need to ensure the grid can support increased demand."

The company plans to roll out an EV version of its Transit commercial van in 2010, a Focus EV in 2011, plus plug-in and next-generation hybrid product in 2012.

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