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Carmakers decide on universal plug for hybrids

 
4 1,945 views Apr 22, 2009

Carmakers have agreed on a three-pronged 400-volt plug

Carmakers have agreed on a three-pronged 400-volt plug

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When we drive interstate or internationally, we expect fuel everywhere to be fairly similar. Now, to ensure that same security is there for drivers of plug-in hybrid vehicles, a number of major carmakers and energy companies have come to an agreement on what the plug should look like for the new cars.

In the end, the companies agreed on a three-pronged, 400-volt plug which was presented at Monday's Hanover Technology Fair. The reasoning behind the decision to make the plugs uniform between different companies is that a car must be able to be recharged in one country in exactly the same way as in another.

The major carmakers on board with the agreement include Volkswagen, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Fiat, Toyota and Mitsubishi, which together account for the large majority of global vehicle production. The agreement also includes major European energy firms, such as the German-based companies E.O.N and RWE, Swedan's Vattenfall, France's EDF, Spain's Endesa and Italy's Enel.

The announcement represents a significant move forward for electric vehicles, and the mass embrace of the battery instead of oil is beginning to force companies to concentrate on building suitable infrastructure for such a switch.

No timeline for the new common plug has been given, but the fact that the plug is capable of handling 400-volts and most homes are only 240-volt seems to suggest that the energy companies involved may be considering high-powered recharging stations as an option for electric car motorists.



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Comments (4)

  1. ma_Roy avatar Roy Posted: 4/22/2009 10:12am PDT

    Surely most homes (in the EU and US) are 110 - 120 volts? Only a few countries (eg, the UK) use 240 volts.

    It implies that a transformer will be required rather than just being able to plug your car into any household socket.
     
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  2. ma_www.mywheelsonwalls.com avatar www.mywheelsonwalls.com Posted: 4/22/2009 5:04pm PDT

    You mean to tell me that this decision is only just being made? I still fail to see how plugging in and un-plugging my car in day in and day out is a step in the right direction.

    Then again drive an LPG powered car converted in the UK and hope over to France for Le Mans and try to fill it up there! Yup you guessed it you'll be needing an adapter.......
     
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  3. ma_WizardsLore avatar WizardsLore Posted: 4/22/2009 8:04pm PDT

    and how will the energy stations be powered to charge these cars....thats right fossile fuels...

    not all countries have addopted or are willing to adopt nuclear power stations so that idea is non starter.

    solar power is the only way forward for a power station but these take up ridiculous amounts of land space !
     
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  4. ma_eurodude avatar eurodude Posted: 4/23/2009 3:21am PDT

    Actually, all countries in Europe (and in fact most countries in the world) use 220 - 240 Volts in their homes. America and Japan are the only exceptions I can think of.

    I think its also been said before - power stations use fossil fuels, but this is still more efficient than the cars themselves using the same fossil fuels.
     
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