Volvo Cars and Vattenfall to develop new plug-in hybrid

2 June 2009

Swedish energy company Vattenfall and the Volvo Car Corporation have launched an industrial joint venture partnership to introduce plug-in hybrids on the market.

In January 2007, Volvo and Vattenfall launched a joint project with the aim of testing and developing plug-in technology. Now their cooperation is being taken to the next level.

‘We are investing in an industrial joint venture to series-produce plug-in hybrid cars in Sweden in 2012, cars that can be powered by both electricity and diesel. This is an important business development for us and our partnership with Vattenfall allows us to take a giant step toward offering our customers cars with an even smaller environmental footprint,’ said Stephen Odell, president and CEO of Volvo.

Vattenfall and Volvo believe that series production of plug-in hybrid cars and the development of infrastructure can generate new jobs and help Sweden maintain its position at the cutting edge of advanced pro-environmental technology.

‘We want to reinforce electricity’s importance in society and its key role in solving climate issues. Through this cooperation we hope to be able to speed up the introduction of electric cars. Together we are developing the next-generation technology based on Plug-in cars and various charging alternatives,’ said Lars G Josefsson, president and CEO of Vattenfall.
The development of the cars is being carried out and financed jointly by the two companies. Volvo will manufacture the cars and Vattenfall will develop charging systems and supply the cars with electricity.

Vattenfall will offer customers the opportunity to sign an agreement for renewable electricity sourced specifically from windpower or hydropower, as an alternative to the regular mix of electricity sources.

Josefsson added, ‘Through electric power, we avoid the emissions from each individual car. Instead of petrol or diesel, the energy is derived from a few large power sources and Vattenfall is working hard to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from all electricity production. In Sweden, virtually all Vattenfall’s electricity production is emission-free.’

The hybrid cars will be driven by an electric motor fuelled by a lithium-ion battery. The battery takes about five hours to charge from a standard wall socket, and the battery is also charged every time the car’s brakes are applied.

In the summer of 2009, three Volvo V70 demonstration cars will be presented. The cars that are planned to go into series production in 2012 will feature somewhat different technology, but the launch of the demonstration vehicles is a step towards series-producing plug-in hybrid cars specifically tailored to market needs, the companies said.

Copyright © 2009 newnet

Tags: energy storage, hybrid, infrastructure, plug-in vehicles, transport

This story was published on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 at 9:18 am and is filed under Europe, companies, energy efficiency, energy storage. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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