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ELVIIS Volvo C30 EV charges from any standard outlet, bills the driver (hands-on)
The electric vehicle is still a fresh enough concept that the issue of redirecting the bill when filling up at a public outlet or a friend's house is of little concern. But once EVs gain more traction and the cost of electricity during that monthly dinner party starts to run upwards of 50 bucks, you'll definitely take notice. ELVIIS, a research collaboration between Ericsson and the Viktoria Institute in Sweden, may be the solution. Instead of pulling power from the grid blindly and billing the outlet's owner, the system provides driver and vehicle information to a server before charging begins, then redirects the cost for power consumed to whatever account you've registered with the vehicle, alleviating any concern about unexpected electricity bills. ELVIIS can theoretically serve other purposes, allowing you to select the least-expensive energy source, for example, or set the car to wait to charge until late-night, when rates are lower.We jumped into the passenger seat of one of five existing ELVIIS cars -- built around an all-electric Volvo C30 -- and poked around the charging interface. The project isn't fully operational just yet, and was running in demo mode so there's no way to verify that it works as described, but it definitely appears to be solid, with Ericsson providing financial and development support. Eventually, it will use the car's GPS to identify nearby power outlets -- for now, you need to enter a specific outlet ID. There's also an Android app that allows you to monitor and reschedule charging, so if you programmed your car to be completely charged by 7AM but realized that you need to leave at 6, you can make sure you're covered without getting out of bed. But you don't need to go anywhere to see it in action -- just click on past the break.
Volvo kicks off C30 Electric production for 2012 delivery, promises V60 plug-in hybrid for the US later
Not enough electric vehicles in the market, you say? Well, at least there'll be a new candidate rolling out from Volvo next year. Earlier this week, the car maker announced that it's just started producing the C30 Electric (as test-driven by us back in March), the task of which is split between the company's Belgium and Swedish plants. If all goes well, Volvo will deliver 250 or more units to leasing customers across Europe (Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway) by the end of 2012. There's no word on US availability for this petrol-free ride, but Volvo will instead be offering the more powerful V60 plug-in hybrid to its American friends in 2013 or 2014. Patience is a virtue, dear friends.
