Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. and the University of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering are collaborating on the development of a campus-wide Smart Grid “Living Laboratory” to further the development of electric vehicles.
The two year program, helmed by the USC Energy Institute, aims to simulate a city of 50-60,000 citizens, tourists, and visitors who will develop a chronicle of their experiences in managing a fleet of EVs under varying conditions.
Ideally, the project should result in one of the most comprehensive analyses ever of EV functioning in everyday life.
From the press release:
“Mitsubishi Motors is proud to offer our support to the USC Smart Grid Living Laboratory program,” said Yoichi Yokozawa, President & CEO of Mitsubishi Motors North America. “This project will help cities of all sizes develop a very cost-effective electric vehicle infrastructure game plan for drivers of 100% electric-powered vehicles including the Mitsubishi i-MiEV.”
Mitsubishi will provide the vehicles for the project, including 12 i-MiEV vehicles and several Level 2 EVSE charging systems. It will also collaborate on technical know-how and other consultation.
USC couldn’t be happier about the arrangement:
“We are excited to build a partnership with Mitsubishi Motors in the area of electric vehicle integration into the Smart Grid that demonstrates that USC and Mitsubishi Motors are serious about the future of electric vehicles,” said Dr. Yannis Yortsos, Dean of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. “This is a substantial electric vehicle fleet that will not only provide a useful pool of data for technical and behavioral research projects but will also have a highly visible impact on the USC community due to interaction with students, faculty, staff, alumni and the surrounding neighborhood.”
Numerous USC departments have agreed to collect and provide information with a view toward scaling up electric vehicle operations and successfully integrating EVs into everyday life.
