CICP News & Updates

Inside Indiana Business reported this morning that Smart USA has chosen Indianapolis as a test market for its new Smart fortwo electric drive vehicle.  Executives from Smart say the Indianapolis region is an ideal test market for the new electric model because of plans for investment in charging infrastructure for plug-in vehicles, part of the Project Plug-IN effort being coordinated by CICP’s Energy Systems Network (ESN) initiative.

Project Plug-IN will place more than 100 plug-in vehicles in service with commuters as well as government and corporate fleets across the Indianapolis metropolitan area with the goal of anticipating and solving the challenges that come with the use of plug-in cars and trucks.  These include the deployment of residential and public charging stations, enabling off-peak charging, and resolving billing issues.

In addition to EnerDel, Project Plug-IN partners include Duke Energy, Indianapolis Power & Light, Think Global, Nissan, Smart USA, Navistar, Cummins, Delphi Corporation, Bright Automotive, ITOCHU Corporation, IBM, Simon Property Group, Midwest ISO, Purdue University, the City of Indianapolis, the State of Indiana, and the Rocky Mountain Institute.  Collectively, these partners have received nearly half a billion dollars ($490.4 million) in federal stimulus grant funding.

Through milestones like the recent U.S.-China Advanced Technology Vehicle Summit and commercialization activities like Project Plug-IN and the Hoosier Heavy Hybrid Partnership (a partnership geared towards the production of medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks), ESN has made real progress in its first year towards making Indiana a recognized leader in vehicle electrification – we’re proud of their efforts.