The University of Colorado at Boulder’s Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute, or RASEI, will partner with Toyota in a field study of household experiences with plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in a “smart grid” environment.
Toyota and RASEI will work in conjunction with Xcel Energy’s SmartGridCity pilot in Boulder.
Toyota will supply 18 Prius PHVs for the two-year program. The cars, slated to arrive in the next few days, will be circulated in three-month stints among 108 randomly selected Boulder households that volunteered to be part of smart-grid pilot tests.
“This is a great example of CU working together with industry to address big-picture energy questions,” said Michael Knotek, director of RASEI.
RASEI, Toyota and Xcel will gather data on vehicle performance, electricity usage and how households interact with vehicle feedback through smart-grid technology.
The Boulder location also presents the opportunity for researchers to monitor the performance of Toyota’s first-generation lithium-ion battery at high altitudes and in cold weather.
