Solar and Plug-in Prius Planned

PLUG-IN PRIUS

Today Toyota joined almost every other major car company who had already unveiled plans for producing cars that run on energy supplied by the electric grid. Announcing the official plug-in Prius based on the most popular hybrid vehicle to date, Toyota said it would test the fuel-saving vehicle on public roads -- an industry first and as Collin notes the cause of much hubub in our Forums. While renegades such as Cal Cars have been retrofiting out-of-box Priuses with plug-in technology for some time and Google recently took up the PHEV cause using the Prius as a guinea pig, we have to say that while it's been fun, we heartily welcome Toyota finally hitching its official vision and guidance to this enterprise. However, the world's biggest automaker said the car, called the Toyota Plug-in HV, was not fit for commercialisation since it uses low-energy nickel-metal hydride batteries instead of lithium-ion batteries believed to be a better fit for rechargeable plug-in cars. More deets and a THTV webisode from the waining days of the renegade, DIY plug-in Prius when you Knievel the jump.

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) shift pollution from a tailpipe to a power-plant. Even charging off the national grid, which is about 50% coal, the renegade plug-in Prius is known to produce under half the net pollution. Electricity use was calculated to be under $1/gallon, with the expectation that as the grid gets cleaner, so do the emissions of the vehicles.

Today's Toyota Plug-in HV runs on the same nickel metal hydride battery as the Prius and has a cruising range of 8 miles on electricity. General Motors is the only company with a specific target date for a plug-in hybrid. It has set 2010 as a target for production of the Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in series hybrid. Toyota remains cautious about assigning a date for production of a plug-in Prius. From Reuters:

Unlike earlier gasoline-electric hybrids, which run on a parallel system twinning battery power and a combustion engine, plug-in cars are designed to enable short trips powered entirely by the electric motor, using a battery that can be charged through an electric socket at home.

Many environmental advocates see them as the best available technology to reduce gasoline consumption and global-warming greenhouse gas emissions, but engineers say battery technology is still insufficient to store enough energy for long-distance travel.

"It's difficult to say when plug-in hybrids could be commercialised, since it would depend largely on advances in battery technology," said Executive Vice President Masatami Takimoto, in charge of Toyota's powertrain technology, told a news conference.

While you're waiting for the battery technology, THTV and CalCars show you how to get 100 miles per gallon from your current Prius just by making a few tweaks under the hood.

SOLAR POWERED PRIUS

Japan's business news source, Nikkei (subscription only), has reported that Toyota is planning a Prius with solar panels manufactured by Kyocera Corp. Toyota has not confirmed the reports. If Toyota achieves the rumored timing, it will be the first major manufacturer to bring a car with integrated solar panels to the mass market.

Toyota has not unveiled any design plans for the solar panels: pictured above is an artist's conception of how the Solar Prius might look. The solar panels will power the air conditioning on the world's most popular hybrid car. The last major revamp of the Prius power system was an upgrade of the hybrid synergy drive in 2003. The third generation Prius is due to be unveiled in 2009 for the 2010 model year.

The rumor mill has immediately added speculations that solar panel plans may be in the works for additional hybrid car models. The Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid is also eagerly anticipated after recent announcements. The plug-in Prius is expected to benefit from an upgrade of the NiMH batteries to Lithium-ion batteries.

The Solar Prius topic is already heating up in the TreeHugger Forums, so pop on over and make your voice heard!