Googling the Plug-In Hybrid

When the folks over at Google took "don't be evil" as their informal corporate motto, we never expected it to include the way we drive. But with the Internet-search giant's philanthropic arm Google.org now searching for answers to the global climate change issue, it was only a matter of time before it turned to the transportation sector. But how to make a change? Google's top result: the plug-in hybrid.

 

Google's recently announced RechargeIT initiative aims to bring attention to plug-in hybrid technology and fund the research that may take it mainstream. Already, Google.org has given $1 million in grants to plug-in proponents like CalCars and research groups such as the Rocky Mountain Institute. Later this summer, Google.org will publish a formal request for proposals, in which some $10 million in grants will be up for grabs to fund plug-in-related research.

 

Google has also contracted Hymotion and A123Systems to make a small plug-in demonstration fleet out of four Toyota Prius sedans and two Ford Escape Hybrid SUVs. Internet surfers can monitor the real-world fuel economy performance of the cars at RechargeIT.org.

 

Some of the juice to power the fleet will come from the recently switched-on solar panel installation over the company's Mountain View headquarters - the largest of its kind in the country. The company's executive director, Larry Brilliant, is shown here charging up one of the plug-in examples. Google says that as plug-ins become commercially available, the fleet could expand to 100 and be worked into the company's employee car-sharing program. Need more info? Well, you know where to go.