Phase I

• EV Information Exchange (Annex I)
• Energy and Environmental Impacts of EVs (Annex II)
• EV Infrastructure (Annex IV)
• Batteries and Supercapacitors (Annex V)
• Hybrid Vehicles (Annex VII)

EV Information Exchange (Annex I)

The Annex I task force collected information on hybrid and electric vehicles (HEVs and EVs) from member countries through a four-part questionnaire to each member country:

1. Census information: statistics from each country on number and type (car, bus, truck, etc.) of hybrid and electric vehicles, and type of ownership (private, commercial, government fleet, etc.)
2. Technical information on the hybrid and electric vehicles in each country (type of battery, type of hybrid arrangement, weight of vehicle, energy consumption, etc.)
3. Government programs related to hybrid and electric vehicles.
4. Behavioral data: how are vehicles driven (distance driven per day, per trip, etc.) and how are electric vehicles recharged (at what times of the day, at home or at a recharging facility, etc.)

The data submitted by each country were analyzed and published once a year in a report available only to task force participants in the task force. In 1996 and 1999, summary reports were published that are available to all those who are interested.

The task force met twice a year. During these meeting members gave "mini-presentations" on recent developments in hybrid and electric vehicles in their countries, which allowed participants to remain up to date on developments in the major car-manufacturing countries.

The leader of the task force was NEDO of Japan, and most countries that participated in the implementing agreement also participated in this annex.

Energy and Environmental Impacts of EVs (Annex II)

The Annex II task force worked on several aspects of energy and environmental impacts, which were divided into a number of subtasks:

• Development of a spreadsheet model of the energy and environmental impacts of electric vehicles at the national level: The input consisted of facts or assumptions about the growth of the vehicle fleet; energy consumption of cars, trucks, buses, etc.; emissions of these vehicles; emissions from the generation of electricity; the rate of vehicle replacement; etc. A "scenario" would then be formulated with assumptions about the introduction of electric vehicles, and the resulting emissions and energy consumption would be compared with scenarios in which no electric vehicles were introduced.
• Environmental impacts due to the manufacturing and recycling of electric vehicle batteries
• Local environmental impacts, that is the link between emissions from vehicles and the concentration of air pollutants in urban areas
• Innovative transportation systems using EVs: The possibility of using EVs in combination with other transportation modes or systems was investigated, including the potential number of trips that could be made in different urban situations by these systems.

The leader of the task force was ECN of the Netherlands, and the participating countries were Austria, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.

EV Infrastructure (Annex IV)

The Annex IV task force worked on international aspects of EV infrastructure development. It produced reports on the following topics:

• International collaboration among technical standard setting organizations
• Barriers to infrastructure development
• Costs of infrastructure

The leader was EA Technology of the United Kingdom, and the participating countries were Canada, the Netherlands, Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Batteries and Supercapacitors (Annex V)

The Annex V task force worked with the organizational support of the Electrochemical Society (ECS) and held its meetings at the same time as ECS conferences. It organized two symposia on electric vehicle batteries and supercapacitors in conjunction with the ECS, which published the proceedings. It also published two outlook reports that reported on the state of the art of different battery technologies, research priorities, and exploratory research being conducted in participating countries.

The leader was ESTCO Energy Inc. of Canada, and the participating countries were Canada, Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States.

The Hybrid Vehicle Task Force (Annex VII)

This task force is working on two main activities; an overview of the current situation of hybrid vehicles and a study of a number of selected topics related to hybrid vehicles. The task force meets three times a year. The work of the task force is available only to the participating countries (Belgium, Finland, France, Japan, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States).

The leader of the task force is TNO of the Netherlands.