GM teams with utilities to develop electric car charging infrastructure
General Motors has already gotten a bit of cash from the US Department of Energy to further the development of plug-in hybrids, and it now looks like it's taking things one step further on another initiative, with it teaming up with the Electric Power Research Institute and 30 utilities in 37 states to produce a charging infrastructure for electric cars. Among other things, they'll be working to develop an affordable, reliable electricity source that's weather-proof and child-proof, which they say could be installed in places like public garages, curbside meters, or workplace parking lots. The utility companies, in particular, will also apparently be working to ensure that the grid doesn't get overwhelmed during peak hours. All that, GM says, will be done by 2010, which just happens to coincide with the launch of its much-touted Volt hybrid.
