Postal Service to Test Electric Van, EV Pioneer AC Propulsion is Co-Developer
By John O'Dell January 20, 2010
AC Propulsion, the Southern California company that's been making electric vehicles, EV drive systems and EV conversions for nearly two decades, said it has formed a partnership with vehicle modifier AutoPort to develop and build an electric delivery van for the U.S. Postal Service.
The companies will build a van with full vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capabilities, meaning it will be able to fully use new smart-grid technologies to determine the best and least expensive times to charge and might even be able to deliver power stored in its batteries to the grid in times of peak demand.
AC Propulsion will provide the vehicle's electric drive system (the company also builds the drive system for the Mini E electric car) and controls and AutoPort will do the conversion - using a standard Postal van stripped of its conventional powertrain - at its facilities in Delaware.
The Postal Service is contemplating converting 142,000 vehicle in its fleet to plug-in electric drive systems.
The AC-AutoPort delivery van is one of five test projects awarded by the agency, and is the only one to be developed with full V2G capabilities.
It is slated to be tested in the Washington D.C. region for a full year once it is delivered to the Postal Service.
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