NRC Report on Plug-in Hybrids

On December 14^th, the National Research Council issued a press release announcing a new report on plug-in hybrids entitled, “Transitions to Alternative Transportation Technologies – Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles.”  Sponsored by the Department of Energy, the new report concludes that the costs of plug-in hybrid electric cars are high -- largely due to their lithium-ion batteries -- and unlikely to drastically decrease in the near future.  The report states that costs to manufacture plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in 2010 are estimated to be as much as $18,000 more than for an equivalent conventional vehicle and that subsidies in the tens to hundreds of billions of dollars will be needed if plug-ins are to achieve rapid penetration of the U.S. automotive market.  Even with such subsidies, the report states that plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are not expected to significantly impact oil consumption or carbon emissions before 2030.

Copies of report are available from the National Academies Press; tel. 202-334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242 or on the Internet at http://www.nap.edu.