Money continues to be poured into the development of green cars stateside as the US Department of Energy has awarded the Ford Motor Company a $10million grant for research, development and demonstration of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).
In an effort to claw back ground on Asian manufacturers that have stolen a march on American carmakers in the green car race, Ford has received the grant to develop a fleet of 20 PHEVs – the total cost of the project is $20million, so the Government is effectively funding 50 per cent of the program.
Ford, which has suffered significant sales falls during 2008, has already made tentative steps into the green car market having delivered its first flexible-fuel capable plug-in hybrid electric SUV to the Department of Energy in June. The vehicle was a plug-in version of the Ford Escape Hybrid, which was capable of running on both petroleum and E85. Now vehicle testing is under way in California, Michigan and Washington, DC.
The Ford Escape Hybrid is already established in the US car market, and the PHEV version will be equipped with a 10kWh advanced lithium-ion battery that stores enough energy to drive up to 30 miles at top speeds of 40mph.
It will work alongside a four-cylinder engine and is expected to produce emissions 60 per cent below those of a conventional petroleum powered vehicle. According to Ford the reduction could even reach 90 per cent if cellulosic ethanol is used instead of petrol.
