Ford, PGE announce partnership

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Mike Tinskey of Ford and Charlie Allcock of Portland General Electric

Ford Motor Company announced Tuesday that it will make formal a partnership with Portland General Electric to develop electric vehicle infrastructure and policy and study driver behavior as the cars start hitting the streets. The auto giant made the announcement during the launch of its national electric vehicle tour at Portland State University.

The partnership is further validation that Portland — and Oregon —are making strides toward the head of the U.S. pack when it comes to electric vehicle infrastructure.

"We set out to make Portland a premium launch site for electric vehicles," said Charlie Allcock, director of economic development for Portland General Electric and the utilities point person on electric vehicles. "This is another recognition by a global brand that we're doing something right here."

The PGE-Ford partnership involves the following elements:

• • Ford and PGE will work together to share information on charging needs and requirements to ensure the electrical grid can support the necessary demand for electric vehicles, as well as partner on electric vehicle consumer education.
• • The companies will work with state and local governments to support charging station permitting, electric vehicle tax credits and future legislation or regulations.
• • Over the next two years, Ford will introduce the Transit Connect Electric small commercial van, the Ford Focus Electric passenger car, two next generation lithium-ion battery hybrids and a plug-in hybrid. While the company has not yet made formal its launch cities for these new vehicles, the partnership with PGE makes it clear that Portland will get them early — if not first — in the game.
• • Ford and PGE will work with universities such as Portland State University to further study urban mobility and the integration of energy and sustainable design.

"We had a common vision, common goals, so we said, 'Why don't we formalize it?'" said Mike Tinskey, manager for Ford's sustainability activities. "We're going to work together to remove the barriers for electric vehicles."

Ford is also working with Microsoft and its Web-based Hohm product, which helps consumers monitor and improve their home energy efficiency. Ford wants to tap that connection to help its cars interface with electric utilities to optimize charging times.

For its part, PGE brings to the table its close work with Portland State University on a variety of aspects for the electric vehicle roll-out — from the study of how early adopters will use the charging infrastructure to battery technology.

"We work together so seamlessly with PGE, it's almost like we're fraternal twins," said George Beard, the Portland State University professor who heads up the school's partnership with PGE.

Where exactly Portland's early lead in electric vehicle roll-outs will end up in terms of jobs and economic development is an open question.

Allcock points out that electric cars are basically smart appliances and the number of applications that will be developed to manage and optimize them is yet to be seen.

Portland State University President Wim Wiewel said he is confident that the city's early lead will pay off in exportable expertise (think: consulting firms) and new industries.

"I use the example of the street car industry," he said. "Who would have thought that when we started using street cars that we'd spur Oregon Iron Works to become the only company turning out American-made street cars."