HyBrids-Plus becomes the third after-market company to develop a PHEV
Prius. It's using the "nano-lithium" batteries from A123 Systems
that received considerable attention when they began to be available
recently in DeWalt power tools. Initial pricing (in addition to the
price of a car) will be $24,000-$32,500, with the expectation of
reducing those prices by up to 50% in the coming year.

We start with the Colorado State Government press release, then add
additional links and some comments.

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&ne\
wsId=20060918005081&newsLang=en

September 18, 2006 08:00 AM Eastern Time
New Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Debuts at Clean Energy Event

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 18, 2006--A new plug-in hybrid
electric vehicle, capable of 125 mpg and receiving electricity from
or sending it to the grid, will be available for viewing at "Clean
Energy Partnerships." The event, part of the statewide Colorado's
Tech Week, will be in Fort Collins on Monday, September 18.

The Colorado Governor's Office of Energy Management and Conservation
(OEMC) is working with several partners on this project.
Hybrids-Plus, Inc. converted a 2006 Toyota Prius into a plug-in
hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) for demonstration purposes.
A123Systems supplied the state-of-the-art lithium ion batteries and
the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory
(NREL) and Xcel Energy will perform a benefit analysis of the project.

"Hybrids-Plus, based in Boulder, Colorado, is one of the few
companies in the country to offer this conversion. This PHEV
demonstration is generating a great deal of interest in other hybrid
conversions," said Drew Bolin, director of OEMC.

The batteries are a new generation of high-power lithium ion used
for, among other things, cordless power tools, and have been
installed as a self-contained battery pack in the rear of the
vehicle. The design takes some of the space occupied by a storage
tray now in the trunk, but allows access for, and to, the spare tire.

"A123Systems' improvements in lithium ion battery technology will
enable much greater yields in conventional transportation for vehicle
mileage in a safe and reliable manner. A123Systems is involved in
this PHEV demonstration in order to demonstrate the advantages of
this technology and make it available on a wider scale to the
public," said Roger Lin of A123Systems.

This Prius will also soon have Vehicle to Grid (V2G) capability,
which means it can provide power to as well as receive power from the
electrical grid. A study by Xcel Energy and NREL will assess the
collective effects of thousands of PHEVs. Further, the study will
determine the emissions profile of the car, as well as those from the
greater simulated number, to make recommendations how best to
incorporate these new-generation vehicles into the electrical grid.

"Xcel Energy is committed to supporting the widespread deployment of
plug-in hybrid vehicle technologies and preparing to meet future
customer needs related to alternative fuel transportation," said
Michael Lamb, executive director of Utility Innovations at Xcel
Energy. "We expect our joint study with NREL will uncover the
potential for PHEVs to ultimately increase the overall reliability
and sustainability of our existing electricity grid infrastructure."

"PHEVs can reduce our dependence on foreign oil without costly
infrastructure investment," said Keith Parks, an analyst at NREL.
"The electricity used to provide power to these vehicles is already
available at every home and business."

The primary advantage of converting to a PHEV is for better mileage,
less oil consumption, and lower driving costs. Additionally, PHEVs
can be driven strictly as an electric vehicle during in-town driving
or at speeds less than 35 mph, offering another fuel-saving feature
along with lower tailpipe emissions.

"We were able to place a larger-capacity pack in the same location as
the original battery pack, and for even greater range we placed cells
in unused areas inside the vehicle. We retain the original storage
space and spare tire location so that the conversion is next to
invisible to the user, except of course for the extended mileage.
Although today's conversion cost is high, that cost, as well as
installation time, is expected to drop in the next few years by 30 to
50 percent making this technology widely available to businesses and
individual consumers alike," said Carl Lawrence of Hybrids-Plus.

Launch Event for the PHEV Prius Information:

The PHEV Prius will be available for viewing on Monday, September 18,
from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Colorado State University Engine
and Energy Conversions Laboratory, which is the host site for the
"Clean Energy Partnerships" event. For more information on this event
and viewing the car, call Megan Castle at 303-866-2262 or visit
http://www.state.co.us/oemc/press/2006-08-23.pdf.

Project Partner Contact Information:
-- A123Systems, Roger Lin, rlin@..., www.a123systems.com
-- Hybrids-Plus, Inc., Carl Lawrence, carl.lawrence@...,
www.hybrids-plus.com
-- NREL, Keith Parks, Keith_Parks@..., www.nrel.gov
-- OEMC, Ed Lewis, Ed.Lewis@..., www.colorado.gov/oemc
-- Xcel Energy, Mark Stutz, mark.stutz@..., www.xcelenergy.com

At <http://www.hybrids-plus.com/ht/products.html>, we like the
Hybrids-Plus graphic, showing Toyota's message, "You Never Need to
Plug It In (TM)", crossed out to become "You Willl Want to Plug It In."

For the visually-oriented, in addition to the links from that
Hybrids-Plus page, here are more photos:
http://hybrids-plus.com/pmwiki/index.php?n=Ext.Gallery

For the technically-minded, the company has participated in
the EAA-PHEV website, providing some specifications there:
http://www.eaa-phev.org/wiki/Hybrids-Plus

There's lots more on the website, including a FAQ:
http://www.hybrids-plus.com/ht/faq.html
And here are CalCars Tech Lead Ron Gremban's comments:
* They plan to have two 23Ah x 180V battery packs, each with 600 (10
parallel x 60 series) A123 cells. Each is 4.1 kWh, which should be
good for around 13 miles EV range to 80% depth of discharge
(DOD). The one existing pack is currently uncooled, but is expected
to be air cooled. Thermal load is minimal due to the A123s' low
internal resistance.
* One pack will fit in place of the original equipment manufacturer
(OEM) battery, leaving even the existing tool tray intact. If the
optional second pack is added, it will fit along one side, above and
beside the spare tire, allowing for continued spare tire
access. Cell weight is 42 kg/pack, so the total weight of one pack
is probably around 110 lb. Due to removal of the OEM battery,
vehicle weight from the first pack should be increased imperceptibly
if at all.
* The car has a custom battery management system (BMS), with a small
board for each parallel set of cells, all communicating to a central
CPU via a single wire. Like EnergyCS', the BMS replaces Toyota's
battery engine control unit (ECU) and mimics the Toyota Battery ECU's
controller area network (CAN) bus conversation with the car's other
Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD) computers. Perceived state of charge
(SOC) is adjustable (presumably soon to be automated), but charge
current limit (CCL) is kept steady at 105A.
* EV-only mode (entered by emulating the Prius' European/Asian
EV-only button) is not currently used, meaning that pure electric
operation is available only to 60A/15hp (VERY mild acceleration, vs.
the still-moderate 120A/30 hp EV capability available in EV-only
mode). However, just as with all other Prius conversions when not in
EV-only mode, the engine can be coaxed (via minimal throttle and
maximum perceived SOC) into remaining stopped up to as high as 42-50 mph.
* It uses a custom 1.5 kW charger with a very innovative 120VAC power
plug that hides in place of one of the car's rear license plate lamps.

If you want a run-down of all the current and expected options from
after-market companies, see the table at
http://www.eaa-phev.org/wiki/Prius_PHEV -- and we'll be updating our
summaries at http://www.calcars.org/howtoget.html
(We can't confirm speculation that A123 will also be supplying
batteries to Hymotion)


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Felix Kramer fkramer@...
Founder California Cars Initiative
http://www.calcars.org
http://www.calcars.org/news-index.html
http://www.hybridcars.com/blogs/power
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