Joint Experiment with Major Power Company

Toyota Motor Corporation will begin an experiment in the United States aimed at establishing a new system. This experiment involvesPrius PHVthe "Prius PHV," in collaboration with major U.S. power company Duke Energy and non-profit organization Energy Systems Network, for a period of one year.

Using the communication standard technology defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers of the United States, bidirectional digital communication will be established between electric vehicles and the power company's grid. This aims to establish a system for load leveling of the power grid through "demand response," which adjusts power consumption according to supply and demand, and to create a mechanism for automatically setting optimal charging based on a system where electricity rates vary by time of use.

For users, this means that the electric vehicle being charged (in this experiment, the Prius PHV) will exchange information on power demand, etc., with the power company via a connector, and automatically begin charging during times of low power demand or when electricity rates are lower.



The experiment will involve five households in Indianapolis, Indiana, to whom a Prius PHV will be loaned, along with one charging station and one communication device installed in each home. Based on the data obtained, the performance of the communication system between vehicles and the power grid will be evaluated, and the operation of the charging management system will be verified. Ultimately, Toyota aims to contribute to the realization of a low-carbon society through such initiatives in a world where electric vehicles are becoming increasingly prevalent.