Plug-in vehicles
The NSW Government has comprehensive action plans in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality from transport. These include a commitment to reduce air pollutants from motor vehicles through cleaner fuels and car technology, improvements to public transport, and urban and transport planning.
Electric vehicles present significant opportunities to reduce the environmental impacts of motor vehicle use. They do not cause air pollution when driven and they emit less carbon dioxide than internal combustion engine vehicles even when they are charged from the current NSW electricity grid. When the use of electric and hybrid electric vehicles is combined with increased renewable power generation, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions avoided is significant.
SWITCH: plug-in hybrid electric vehicle conversion
SWITCH is the name given to Australia's first vehicle-to-grid (V2G) plug-in hybrid electric vehicle and was launched by the then Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, Carmel Tebbutt, in April 2009.
The prototype was developed by researchers at the University of Technology Sydney Institute for Sustainable Futures, with funding from the NSW Government. The research team adapted the car from a standard Toyota Prius by adding extra batteries, controls and connections so that it can charge from, or feed back into, a household's mains power supply.
The car is being trialled as part of DECCW's vehicle fleet to test fuel efficiency, electricity use, greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution savings. Additional batteries give the vehicle a greater full-electric range and decrease fuel consumption and pollution. SWITCH is unique because it can feed electricity back into the grid through an inverter, the same system used by photovoltaic solar panels.
SWITCH's performance, including fuel efficiency, electricity use and capacity to feed back to the grid, is being monitored in collaboration with EnergyAustralia. The fuel and energy data for the PHEV will be available online as the trial gets underway.
The early results are encouraging. Once commissioning issues were resolved, SWITCH achieved average fuel consumption of around 5 litres/100 kilometres while operating in mainly urban conditions. This places it among the top 10 vehicles in Australia. More updates on SWITCH's performance will be posted on this page in early 2010.
See also:
Electric Vehicles Taskforce
The NSW Government has established an Electric Vehicles Taskforce to explore opportunities and barriers to electric vehicle uptake in NSW. The taskforce is reviewing the technology, infrastructure, policy, and legislation to support the uptake of electric vehicles by NSW motorists.
The Taskforce consists of representatives from DECCW, the NSW Transport and Infrastructure, Department of Premier and Cabinet, NSW Treasury, Department of Services, Technology and Administration, Country Energy, EnergyAustralia, and Department of Industry and Investment.
As part of the exploratory work of the Electric Vehicles Taskforce, DECCW commissioned the development of a model to investigate the economic viability of electric vehicles in the Sydney Greater Metropolitan Region. The modelling showed that electric vehicles are both economically and financially viable, but that the benefits accrue over the longer term. The results of the modelling are summarised in:
i-MiEV trial
The NSW Government has agreed to participate in an Australian trial of the i-MiEV (Mitsubishi Innovative Electric Vehicle). The i-MiEV will be used as a fleet car to help Mitsubishi gather data about the car's performance under Australian driving conditions. The trial will be run by the Department of Services, Technology and Administration.
The fully electric, zero-emissions vehicle is due to be commercially released in Japan in 2009 and trials are planned for Europe, New Zealand and the USA within the next 12 months.
The i-MiEv can carry four occupants and has a top speed (restricted) of 130 km/h. Under Japanese test conditions, the i-MiEV has a range of 160 km per charge and can be charged to full capacity from a household electricity supply in approximately 7 hours.
Page last updated: 26 February 2011
