Phase II

• Strategy
• Activities
• Information Exchange (Annex I)
• Hybrid Vehicle (Annex VII)
• Deployment Strategies (Annex VIII)
• Clean City Vehicles (Annex IX)
• Electrochemical Power Sources and Energy Storage Systems (Annex X)

Strategy

The Strategy for Phase II (December 1, 1999 – November 17, 2004) was formally approved by the Executive Committee at its meeting in Montreal in October 2000. The formal objectives of the Implementing Agreement were agreed as follows:

1. To provide governments, local authorities, large users, and industries with objective information on electric and hybrid vehicles and their effects on energy efficiency and the environment, by means of general studies, assessments, demonstrations, comparative evaluation of various options of application, market studies, technology evaluations, and so forth;
2. To disseminate the information it produces to groups and organizations that have an interest in it; and
3. To collaborate on pre-competitive research projects and related topics and to investigate the need for further research in promising areas.

The strategy set out 19 subject areas of interest to the implementing agreement, some of these are covered by ongoing task forces (annexes), whereas others were to be studied to determine whether a new annex on this subject would be of interest and attract sufficient participation.

The strategy described three initiatives for the second phase:

1. To continue to streamline the management of the implementing agreement and executive committee meetings to keep overhead costs to a minimum;
2. To increase dissemination efforts, so that the work done by the agreement will better reach its intended target audiences; and
3. To improve the strategic planning capacity of the Executive Committee and to make it easier to identify new subject areas of interest and to start up new annexes in these areas.

Activities

The following task forces (annexes) were in operation:

• Information Exchange (Annex I)
• Hybrid Vehicles (Annex VII)
• Deployment Strategies (Annex VIII)
• Clean City Vehicle (Annex IX)
• Electrochemical Systems (Annex X)
• Electric Cycles (Annex XI)

In addition, the following dissemination activities were managed by the Executive Committee:

• Maintenance of this web site
• Publication of a newsletter
• Publication of an annual report

Information Exchange (Annex I)

The Annex I task force collects information on hybrid and electric vehicles from member countries and distributes it among themselves. From time to time, it also publishes information in "Summary Reports" for all those who are interested. The main part of the work is the collection of information 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 clean energy 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 clean energy 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 are analyzed and published once a year in a report available only to participants in the task force.

The task force meets once or twice a year. During these meetings, member countries give "mini-presentations" on recent developments in hybrid and electric vehicles in their countries. These meetings allow participants to remain up to date on developments in the major car-manufacturing countries.

The leader of the task force was VTT of Finland. All participants in the agreement also participate in this annex.

Hybrid Vehicles (Annex VII)

The Annex VII task force worked 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, United States) when particular studies are completed. Some of the findings have been made public.

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

Deployment Strategies (Annex VIII)

The Annex VIII task force focused on market introduction activities, such as test fleets, demonstration fleets, and government incentive programs for cleaner vehicles. The issue of bringing cleaner vehicles onto the market is of interest to all advanced vehicle technologies, not only for hybrid and electric vehicles but also for other technologies. For this reason, the task force was a joint one with the Advanced Motor Fuel Agreement.

The leader of the task force was Engineering Office Muntwyler of Switzerland, and the participating countries were Austria, Belgium, Finland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and United States. This annex submitted a final report (1.7Mb pdf) on its activities in December 2002.

Clean City Vehicles (Annex IX)

The Annex IX task force studied the application of clean vehicle and fuel technologies in developing countries. A workshop was held in Paris in 2002. Participating countries included Bangladesh, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Indonesia, India, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal, Peru, and Thailand.

Electrochemical Power Sources and Energy Storage Systems (Annex X)

Improved batteries, power sources (such as fuel cells) and energy storage systems (such as supercapacitors) are key to making hybrid and electric vehicles more competitive with conventional ones. Much research and development work is being done by companies that are working on proprietary technologies. There is also an important role for governments and public research organizations in exploratory or pre-competitive research. The task force is concentrating its efforts in this area, especially in the testing methods of new technologies, including batteries and supercapacitors.

The Center of Competence in Applied Electrochemistry in Austria was the leader of this task force.