Hybrids Plus
 | |
| Company type | Privately held company [1] |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive industry |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Founder | Carl Lawrence, Davide Andrea |
| Defunct | 2009 |
| Headquarters | , United States |
| Products | PHEV conversions |
Number of employees | 20 |
Hybrids Plus was a company operating from 2006 to 2009 that was devoted to converting hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) to plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), including vehicle-to-grid capable PHEVs.
History
The company was founded July, 2006 in Boulder, Colorado to convert a Toyota Prius for the State of Colorado. In 2007 Hybrids Plus won a contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, to convert a Ford Escape, and a contract with Xcel Energy to convert 6 Escapes to V2G capable PHEVs.
In 2007 Hybrids Plus started the development of the "Inverger," a bidirectional charger and inverter for vehicle-to-grid applications, funded in part by a grant from the State of Colorado, Governor's Energy Office.[2]
In the summer of 2008, a malfunction due to a manufacturing error in one of its Prius PHEVs conversions resulted in a fire that destroyed the vehicle.[3][4] As a consequence, the company started a program to examine and upgrade each of the PHEV conversions it had manufactured. After this, only one more Prius PHEV conversion was completed and then that product line was discontinued.[5]
Towards the end of its existence, it converted Ford Escape HEVs to PHEVs by replacing the stock battery with a PHEV battery in the original location (as opposed to augmenting the stock battery with an additional battery, as normally done by other PHEV conversions), and adding a charger and a plug.
In fall 2008, A123 Systems contracted Hybrids Plus to recall all of the vehicles it converted, and remove A123's Li-Ion cells.
In April 2009, Hybrids Plus ceased operations. Its assets were absorbed by Eetrex, a company whose owners include some of the former shareholders of Hybrids Plus.
References
- ^ "ZAP Launches Sale of Plug-In Hybrid Electric Car, Tests Show up to 120 Miles per Gallon" (Press release). Reuters. 2008-03-10. Retrieved 2008-09-24.
- ^ "Hybrids Plus Among Colorado Grant Recipients".
- ^ "Toyota_Prius A123 car fire investigation report". Archived from the original on 2008-08-30.
- ^ "CRN PHEV Field Report Update".[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Available sources of Prius PHEV conversions".
External links
- IEEE Spectrum article featuring a PHEV conversion by Hybrids Plus
- AutoBlogGreen article
- NYSERDA program[permanent dead link]