Thanks to A123 Systems and Hymotion, PHEVs or Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle conversion kits are now available at least for the average Mel Gibsons and Tom Hanks’ of the world.

Effectively, the conversion kit adds another 5000 watt-hours to the Prius’ existing battery of 300 watt-hours with very little modification to the car. Put another way, a converted Prius will gain 55-65 bonus battery-powered kilometers.

According to A123 Systems, “converted PHEVs have the potential to reduce oil consumption by as much as 75 percent and CO2 emissions by up to 50 percent over today’s internal combustion engine powered vehicles.” Sounds like a blessing given recent hikes in prices at the pump. But depending on how much you drive and charge, the unit may only recover about half of its initial price tag ($10,000 USD) in gas savings – unless gas prices more than double.

Still, most great techno gadgets enter the market at a high cost, and shouldn’t be discounted solely based on economics. Hymotion’s swanky PHEV calculator estimates not only approximate gas savings, it also spits out your anticipated greenhouse gas savings in the year. If a carbon tax like the one in BC should be implemented across Canada, the numbers may deserve another look.

In the meantime, you can place a $1000 deposit for your unit with Hymotion today. You’ll have to pay $400 to get it installed at an authorized location in L.A., San Fransisco, Boston, Minneapolis, Seattle, and Washington DC. But from that moment on, you can enjoy 100 or more miles per gallon, near fuel independence, and an apparent $0.50 price tag for each 4.5 hour charge! Plus, if you’re a purchaser of green power, your Prius will be virtually emission-free.

Resources

Learn more or even put money down on your L5 today
A Plug-in Conversion for Prius – New York Times April 27, 2008