One million testing miles reveal plug-in vehicle performance trends

(PhysOrg.com) -- The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), through its Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity (AVTA) at Idaho National Laboratory, has completed 1 million miles of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) testing.

The AVTA's testing of PHEVs demonstrates PHEV concepts in real-world usage by using fleet and public drivers. The 1 million test miles and more than 26,000 charging events have been accumulated in on-road operations across the United States and Canada. More than 215 PHEVs, comprising 12 different PHEV models, have made up the PHEV test fleet to date. PHEV testing results can be found at avt.inl.gov/phev.shtml .

The PHEV testing benchmarks vehicle performance by quantifying energy consumption, both in terms of gasoline and electricity, in a wide variety of operating conditions in 23 states and Canada. The testing also demonstrates how environmental conditions, such as air temperature and human behavior, influence the performance of PHEV technologies. By evaluating how the vehicles are driven and how they are charged, the AVTA is able to demonstrate vehicle energy consumption results and potential electric grid impacts.

The AVTA testing of PHEVs supports DOE's goal of evaluating technologies that have potential to reduce petroleum consumption. Results are shared with industry and government research and development groups to aid in technology development and target setting. Information is also made publicly available via presentations and the AVTA Web site to help fleet managers and private consumers make knowledgeable decisions when acquiring advanced technology vehicles.

The AVTA's PHEV testing effort involves more than 75 testing partners, including electric utilities; city, county, state, federal and provincial governments; universities and colleges; clean air agencies; private companies and other organizations. As part of the AVTA, INL also collaborates with testing partner Argonne National Laboratory, which performs laboratory dynamometer testing of each PHEV model tested on the road. This testing partnership provides an important link between standard laboratory test results and real-world performance. In addition to Argonne, INL also collaborates with other DOE laboratories by sharing PHEV data analysis and reporting.

The AVTA is conducted by Idaho National Laboratory and the Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation (eTec) for DOE's Vehicle Technologies Program. The AVTA also tests other electric drive vehicles such as hybrid electric vehicles and neighborhood electric vehicles. Additional information about the testing results can be found at avt.inel.gov/

INL is one of DOE's 10 multiprogram national laboratories. The INL performs work in each of DOE's strategic goal areas: energy, national security, science and environment. INL is the nation's leading center for nuclear energy research and development. Day-to-day management and operation of the laboratory is the responsibility of Battelle Energy Alliance.

Provided by INL