The Plug-In Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Research Center at the University of California, Davis, United States, provides technology and policy guidance to the state, helps solve research questions and addresses commercialization issues for PHEVs.
It was launched in 2007 with funding from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the California Energy Commission’s Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program.
The Advisory Council members and organizations, as of February 2010, include employees and representatives of:
Research happens in five distinct areas:
The PHEV Center will conduct this research through a coordinated statewide demonstration of PHEVs. The Center plans to begin with hybrid passenger vehicles that have been converted to plug-in hybrids. It will expand its program to include medium-duty trucks, and will encourage the conversion of other passenger vehicle hybrids to broaden scope of study, eventually evolving to dedicated PHEVs made by original equipment manufacturers.
Pioneering inventions in plug-in hybrid electric vehicle technology and transmission systems developed at UC Davis have been licensed to Efficient Drivetrains Inc (EDI) of Palo Alto in Silicon Valley.