UTS: Newsroom

Australia’s first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) was unveiled in Melbourne today (10.30am 12/7/08) by the University of Technology, Sydney and green development company Szencorp.

The new car which can be charged directly from the domestic power grid combines the best attributes of electric cars that cost less to run than petrol vehicles while using renewable energy, with the efficiency of hybrid vehicles that can travel up to 1000km without refueling.

Affordable green car travel Photo Mik Kovak

The Szencorp/UTS PHEV uses a converted Toyota Prius, fitted with extra batteries for greater storage and a power socket so it can be charged directly from the power grid. Unlike currently available petrol/electric hybrids that derive all their electrical energy from petrol, the PHEV can be charged up from a normal household power point.

Following this week’s announcement that Toyota will soon begin production of hybrid cars in Australia, the PHEV represents the next major technological change. Using electricity to drive this car costs as little as a quarter of the price of petrol-powered motoring.

Chris Dunstan, Project Director from the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures said the PHEV can offer not only much lower fuel bills but also the flexibility of storing wind power and solar energy at times of excess generation supply and feeding the stored energy back to the grid at times of high demand. 

“Plug in hybrid cars have the potential to revolutionise not only how we drive but how we generate and use electricity in our homes and workplaces,” Mr Dunstan said. “This car heralds a not-too-distant future where householders will charge up their cars from solar panels on their roof and then pump surplus power from their car back into the grid on days of high peak power demand”.

If charged up on renewable energy, the PHEV can dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as it can run on electricity for over 30 km, the average daily commute of many Australian motorists. For longer trips, it simply switches back to normal hybrid operation. 

Mr Dunstan said the conversion was commissioned by Szencorp and undertaken by the University’s Institute for Sustainable Futures and Faculty of Engineering with assistance from Sydney technology entrepreneur Stan Baker.

“This project illustrates how the research skills in Australia’s universities can be used in partnership with industry and government in grappling with the challenges of sustainable power and transport,” he said.