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Updates – March 2, 2010

Project Plug-IN and Paul Mitchell are covered by Indianapolis Business Journal. The article includes video footage of PGR champion Paul Mitchell speaking about Project Plug-IN.

Updates – January 5, 2010

In what has been a widely publicized announcement, Think electric vehicles will begin producing its first models in Elkhart, Indiana. Fifty to one hundred of these vehicles will be contributed to “Project Plug-in” this summer.

In utility news, Duke Energy and Indianapolis Power & Light (IPL) hosted a workshop for the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission regarding Project Plug-IN. Nissan, Smart, and RMI spoke at the workshop which focused on the utilities plans to provide charging infrastructure (approx 200-300 sites)for the Project Plug-IN demonstration as well as develop an ongoing pilot program to provide charging infrastructure to utility customers who purchase plug-in vehicles.

Finally, “Project Plug-IN” has added ITOCHU Corporation (Japan) as a corporate partner and they will provide battery management systems and DC to DC charging stations.  Additionally, Project Plug-IN will become a sister project to a similar pilot led by ITOCHU in Tskuba Japan involving Mazda, Tokyo Power and Electric Company, and others.

Updates – 10/19/09
Indianapolis has several recent updates to report:

  • Working with two utilities in area, Duke Energy and Indiana Power and Light (IPL), to go to state regulatory commission to ask for cost recovery to pay for demo EV program starting in summer 2010 with initial customer offering by fall 2010
  • Will procure 50-100 vehicles for fleets and consumers; installing charging stations at residences; will use smart meters to do time of use pricing
  • Indiana Deptartment of Administration working with Indiana Economic Development Corporation to purchase 20-30 hybrids and then convert them to plug-in using stimulus dollars
  • Grant from DoE for education around transportation electrification at local universities
Indianapolis PGR Plan

The Indianapolis Region is getting ready.

Working with the Energy Systems Network, the Indianapolis region is getting ready! Check back here in the coming weeks for a regional charter, partner listings, working groups, and much more. Or leave a comment/send us an e-mail with your ideas!
pluginEffectively addressing the technical, business, regulatory, and consumer challenges to meeting the goal of one million plug-in cars by 2015 requires a systems approach that provides advanced electric drive vehicles (AEDVs) and related technologies integrated in a real-world environment.  No single company has the capacity to solve all the challenges to meeting the President’s goal. Moreover, mass commercialization will require a range of companies and institutions representing industries and interests that must coordinate efforts to achieve successful systems integration.  The Energy Systems Network (ESN) has assembled a world-class team to commence a demonstration program that will accelerate the market introduction and penetration of AEDVs and related technologies in the Indianapolis area.

ESN’s Project Plug-IN is comprised of partnering companies and institutions with capabilities spanning the entire plug-in ecosystem from vehicles, to grid side, and in-between.  Project Plug-IN partners include:

pluginpartner

Working collaboratively Project Plug-IN partners bring to the table all of their resources to develop, deploy, demonstrate, market, and evaluate a range of more than one hundred plug-in vehicles, including light, medium and heavy duty, powered by an integrated charging, infrastructure located at homes, businesses, and parking facilities.

Project Plug-IN has three specific objectives that will each be implemented through ESN’s comprehensive collaborative systems approach.

  1. Plug-IN Commute: Deploy a fleet of AEDVs and supporting charging infrastructure to evaluate performance and operation in a variety of real-world commuting environments allowing manufactures to optimize cost and provide the desired performance to achieve mass market penetration among consumers.
  2. Plug-IN Fleet: Deploy a broad range of AEDVs and supporting charging infrastructure in centralized fleet operations to evaluate performance and operation of multiple vehicles platforms allowing manufactures to optimize cost and provide the desired performance to achieve mass market penetration in the fleet market.
  3. Plug-IN Support: Develop, deploy, and evaluate an array of supportive services (i.e. data management, public outreach, and sales and service readiness) that will accelerate plug-in technology development, commercialization, and enhance consumer interest.

Achieving these objectives will advance the manufacturing and marketing of AEDVs, realize the full potential of smart grid utilities, and educate and convince consumers of the benefits of AEDVs and plug-in technologies.  These achievements will accelerate commercialization and sales of AEDVs while reducing cost, improving system performance, and creating jobs.

Working Groups
To ensure the above effort are well integrated and all planning and management decisions, including identification of criteria for, and creation of go/no-go decisions, interim milestones and success/failure metrics, are made with input and support from the collective Project Plug-IN partners, a set of project management teams will be established to enable effective project management. Teams include: Leadership, Data Management, Technical/Engineering, Market Research/Public Outreach,

These teams will meet as a group at least monthly for the first 12 months of the project and then at least quarterly for the duration of the initiative.  The teams will be responsible for developing a comprehensive project plan that focuses on their respective area of expertise. These plans will build on and if necessary modify the tasks, milestones, go-no-go decision points, and deliverables laid out in this proposal.  The individual team plans will be rolled up into an overall Project Plug-IN management plan that will be approved and overseen by the leadership team comprised of a senior level executives from each partnering company.

Project Milestones

Milestones – Phase 1 (1.5 years, 10/1/2009-3/30/2011) Expected Completion Date
1. Comprehensive Project Plug-IN implementation plan completed by management teams and approved by leadership team April 1, 2010
2. Comprehensive and ongoing Project Plug-IN public outreach and marketing campaign implemented August 1, 2010
3. 200 charging infrastructure sites installed to support initial deployment vehicles for Plug-IN Commute and Plug-IN Fleet October 1,  2010
4. 100 AEDVs and supporting charging infrastructure deployed and operational in Plug-IN Fleet and Plug-IN Commute December 31, 2010
5. Project Plug-IN data hub operational & accessible to the broader community of science March 1, 2011
Milestones – Phase II(1.5 years, 4-1/2011-9/30/2012)
6.    200 Nissan EVs sold in Indianapolis area market with sales accelerated by Project Plug-IN and coordinated dealer network June 1, 2011
7. 500 or more AEDVs sold in the Indianapolis market September 1, 2012
Milestones – Phase III (1 year, 10/1/2012-9/30/2013)
8. 100 Bright Automotive IDEA PHEV vans deployed for use in Plug-IN Fleet October 1, 2012
9. 3 PHEV shuttle buses deployed for use at Indianapolis International Airport as part of Plug-IN Fleet October 1, 2012
10. 500 fully integrated and operation AEDV charging infrastructure sites supported by and smart grid intelligent utility network and transaction settlement system May 1, 2013
11. Complete final project report and evaluation including AEDVs and supporting infrastructure technologies to minimize petroleum consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions July 1 2013
12. At least 1,000 AEDVs sold in the Project Plug-IN Indianapolis markets September 1, 2013

Project Get Ready Regional Champion
Paul J. Mitchell
President & CEO
Energy Systems Network
111 Monument Circle, Suite 1800
Indianapolis IN 46204
317.532.4774
pmitchell@cincorp.com