Australia’s first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle’s (PHEV) unique capabilities will be demonstrated by Lindsay Tanner, Minister for Finance and Deregulation, at
Australia’s first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle’s (PHEV) unique capabilities will be demonstrated
by Lindsay Tanner, Minister for Finance and Deregulation, at Szencorp’s headquarters at 40 Albert Road, South Melbourne this Thursday.
What sets Szencorp’s PHEV apart from other electric cars is that when the PHEV’s battery power is used up, it simply switches back to normal hybrid operation for a range of up to 1,000 km.
Using electricity to drive this car costs as little as a quarter of the price of petrol-powered motoring.
And unlike other electric cars, it has a “power out” capacity, meaning it can supply our homes and offices in high demand periods.
Szencorp funded the University of Technology Sydney to create Australia’s first PHEV. Unlike ordinary petrol/electric hybrids that derive all their electrical energy from petrol, the PHEV, a converted Toyota Prius, can be charged using renewable energy from a normal power point.
The Szencorp PHEV has been retrofitted with extra batteries so that it can store much more electricity than a conventional hybrid and can be charged direct from the power grid using renewable energy.
This will dramatically reduce fossil-fuel use for commuting, as it can run on electricity for over 30 km, which is more than average daily commute of Australian motorists.
Szencorp’s PHEV can also “plug out” and supply the power in its batteries to a house or an office.
The possibility of having vehicles supplementing energy supply at times of peak electricity demand is an attractive prospect, given electricity networks are already constrained, particularly in summer. Szencorp plans to use the PHEV to supply power to its headquarters at 40 Albert Road, one of Australia’s best known and highest rated green buildings.
“Szencorp has funded this PHEV project to demonstrate that cutting-edge low-emission technologies like these are viable and can literally ‘plug in’ to our existing infrastructure,” Peter Szental, Chairman of Szencorp says.
“This exciting new technology, applied right here in Australia, fits a new model of energy use and production that gives us much cleaner and smarter options. Szencorp will use this PHEV in conjunction with our green building projects to demonstrate the benefits of these vehicles.”
The benefits for Australia of adopting PHEVs include substantially reduced fuel costs to the user; vehicles that can run on, store and re-supply clean, renewable electricity; reduction in greenhouse pollution associated with cars; paving the way for revolution in both the motor vehicle and electricity industries and reducing peak electricity supply problems.