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Pushing cars from pump to plug

Jul 28, 2008

eTec, a division of Ecotality, announced Tuesday that it's working with the Department of Energy to develop two-way, fast-charge systems for plug-in hybrids that would return energy to the grid during peak usage times. The company is teaming with V2Green, which has developed technology to control the flow of electricity from vehicle batteries to the utility grid.

eTec supplies charging equipment for electric baggage towing carts at airports and lift trucks in factories. It developed the Minit-Charger for Chrysler's electric vehicle efforts in the early 1990s. eTec, which uses 240-volt outlets for fleets, maintains that 110-volt chargers could take too many hours to use to be convenient in locations such as shopping mall parking lots. It's aiming for a 10-minute charge time for plug-in hybrids.

Credit: James Martin/CNET News