We have posted several stories on HybridMile about all-electric vehicles that are emerging in markets around the world. Each story has noted that one of the problems with all-electric cars and trucks is the strain placed on existing utility grids. Electronic Transportation Engineering Corporation (eTec) has received funding from the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory to take a step toward solving the electric grid issue.
eTec is a company that develops Li-ion and lead acid battery chargers for all-electric machinery and trucks in the construction industry. The grant offered by the Department of Energy will cover eTec’s testing of a “smart” electric grid produced by V2Green. This grid uses a technique called bidirectional charging that allows a charging station to control the amount of current running into a plug-in hybrid and the electrical system.
The overarching goal of the eTec-V2Green collaboration would be a strategic flow of electricity between commuting vehicles and electrical stations. eTec wants plug-in hybrid vehicles to pull out enough electricity to reach charge capacity during low-demand periods in the electrical grid. The Department of Energy and V2Green hopes that charging stations could time electrical charges to preserve energy during peak periods.
The major limitation for the application of V2Green’s electrical grid throughout the United States is the limited scope of eTec’s expertise. eTec works solely with construction companies and specialty producers that create all-electric vehicles for job sites. The fruits of the Department of Energy’s funding and research through eTec will have immediate applicability in the construction industry.
Readers who are familiar with federal funding projects (see NASA) know that the best consequences are indirect. The initial research and testing completed by eTec will inform decisions by state legislatures and automakers to develop alternative fuel infrastructure. eTec, V2Green and the Department of Energy hope that the construction industry’s gain will ease concerns by major auto companies about unveiling electric vehicles. General Motors, Honda, Subaru and other companies will be more willing to add electric vehicles to their lineups knowing that the federal government is interested in a nationwide electrical infrastructure. The results of the eTec-V2Green collaboration may take a decade to make a difference on the auto industry but this money is well spent if it gets us closer to lowered emissions.
