PALO ALTO, CA – Research organizations The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and Argonne National Laboratory made a three-year collaborative agreement to conduct detailed analysis of plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles (PHEVs), aimed at assessing the commercial feasibility of this technology for the U.S. Department of Energy. The EPRI and Argonne analysis will evaluate PHEVs, hybrids, and conventional vehicles, assessing them from environmental, cost, design, and marketing perspectives. The engineering and technical studies will be conducted at the two organizations’ respective research facilities in Palo Alto and Argonne, Ill., and will involve the participation of transportation experts. The objective of the multi-year research project is to provide a balanced and authoritative study of both the advantages of and the challenges to the design and commercial production of PHEVs. The research project, which is funded by the Department of Energy’s Office of FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies, is the latest in ongoing formative research that began in 2001 with the EPRI study, “Comparing the Benefits and Impacts of Hybrid-Electric Vehicle Options,” and the Argonne study “Hybrid-Electric Vehicle Technology Assessment.”