Greentech Lead America: The Hertz Corporation and
IBM are conducting a pilot program in Germany to advance electric vehicle
mobility and user adoption through intelligent recharging solutions.
Hertz On Demand, a global car sharing club, will supply
electric vehicles to IBM employees to drive between Stuttgart Airport and the
company’s campus in Ehningen.
Initially Hertz’s electric cars will be charged using
decentralized generation of electricity on the IBM campus. The charging
stations will be operated with intelligent IBM software that optimizes the
usage of generated power by renewable energies. The software is designed to
balance demand and availability of electricity power to prevent load peaks.
The field test will gauge acceptance and practicability
of the electric vehicle and the intelligent recharging infrastructure usage.
Depending on the success of the pilot program, they intend to add further
electric vehicles to the Ehningen campus, as well as to extend the project to
other IBM sites.
“Hertz and IBM see their electric mobility
collaboration as a means of reinforcing their pioneering roles in this field in
their respective areas of business, as well as helping to increase acceptance
for this new form of transport,” said Michel Taride, president, Hertz
International, and executive vice president, Hertz Corporate.
Discounted rates have been available to IBM staff since
October 2011 as part of the special car sharing agreement in place between the
IBM campus in Ehningen and Stuttgart Airport. From April, IBM’s frequent flyers
will have one electric car at their disposal, with numbers increasing as the
year goes on. The cars can be booked through the Hertz on Demand website using
the IBM account.
Hertz is the first car-rental company to deploy EVs and
PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric) on three continents — in the U.S. (available
to the public in New York, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco), the U.K.
(London), and China (Shenzhen).
Hertz plans to increase its global EV presence by
deploying vehicles in other countries in the coming months.
Hertz Global EV will continue to leverage the company’s
rental and car sharing locations as bases for vehicles and charging stations,
and tap into its technology – including sophisticated fleet management tools
and consumer-facing GPS systems, including Hertz NeverLost in the U.S. – to
help form an EV grid.