14 DAY TRIAL // Duke Energy of Charlotte, N.C. will be receiving 10 demonstration fleet Ram 1500 plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) pickup trucks from Chrysler and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), later this week.
The vehicles are part of a national demonstration fleet of 140 vehicles that will be used during the next three years to evaluate customer usage, drive cycles, charging, thermal management, fuel economy, emissions and impact on the region's electric grid.
"The information from Duke Energy provided to both Chrysler and the Department of Energy will help shape product development within the automotive industry and electric utility programs and infrastructure that could lead to more of these vehicles in the future," said Jim Stanley, Duke Energy's senior vice president of power delivery.
The Ram 1500 PHEV comes with a liquid-cooled 12.9kWhr lithium ion battery pack and a 6.6 kilowatt (kW) on-board charger. Additional features include AC power generation of up to 6.6kW, directional charging, reverse power flow and full regenerative braking used to capture more energy.
For fuel economy improvements, the front axle of the four-wheel-drive automatic transmission can be disconnected when not needed. Powering the pickups will be a 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 engine and a two-mode hybrid transmission.
The 5.7-liter Hemi is equipped with a Fuel Saver technology that improves fuel efficiency at highway speeds by shutting down fuel delivery to up to four cylinders.
The battery pack is located under the second-row seat of the pickup and is liquid cooled to help maintain a consistent battery temperature. For on-the-job electrical power tools, a 240 volt/30 amp four-prong outlet and 120volt/20amp duplex outlet power strip is located in the rear box.
Urban use will be tracked to measure battery performance and overall hybrid efficiency with the demonstration fleet of pickups. Other uses include military bases where vehicles will be able to provide power back to the electric grid in what is termed "reverse power flow" of up to 6.6kW.
This will be a demonstration program only, there are no plans for a production version of the PHEV Ram 1500 truck at this time.