Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc will be the first carmaker to participate in Xcel Energy’s SmartGridCity, the first fully functioning smart grid enabled city in the world.
The SmartGridCity project in Boulder, Colorado aims to provide increased grid reliability and energy use information. Participating customers are also able to remotely control their in-home energy management devices.
Toyota will supply 10 Prius plug-in hybrid electric vehicles for an interdisciplinary research project to be conducted at the Boulder Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute, a joint venture between the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the University of Colorado.
The research institute, Xcel Energy and Toyota will use the project to gather data on vehicle performance and charging patterns; consumer behaviour and preferences; and interactions between electric utilities and their customers.
The performance of Toyota’s first generation lithium-ion battery on high altitude and cold climate will also be monitored.
“Future customers will have high expectations for these emerging technologies. Demonstration programs like this will ensure that the vehicles we bring to market will not just meet customer expectations, but exceed them,” said Chris Hostetter, vice president of the Toyota Motor Sales group for advanced product strategy and product planning.
The 10 vehicles participating in the project are part of a 150-vehicle demonstration fleet that will arrive in the United States early next year.
The Prius plug-in hybrid vehicle aims to achieve a maximum electric-only range of approximately 12 miles and will be capable of achieving highway speeds in electric-only mode. For longer distances, the vehicle reverts to hybrid mode and operates like a regular Prius.
Xcel Energy is a major electricity and natural gas company with operations in eight western and mid-western states. The Minneapolis-based company is traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
Toyota Motor Sales is the sales, marketing, and distribution arm in the United States of its Japanese parent company, Toyota Motor Corporation.
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