| Type | Privately held company [1] |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive industry |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Headquarters | Boulder, Colorado, United States |
| Key people | none |
| Products | PHEV conversions |
| Employees | 20 |
| Website | hybrids-plus.com |
Hybrids Plus was a company devoted to converting hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) to plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), including vehicle-to-grid capable PHEVs. Towards the end of its existence, it converted Ford Escape HEVs to PHEVs by replacing the stock battery with a PHEV battery in the original location (as opposed to augmenting the stock battery with an additional battery, as normally done by other PHEV conversions), and adding a charger and a plug.
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The company was founded July, 2006 in Boulder, Colorado to convert a Toyota Prius for the State of Colorado. In 2007 Hybrids Plus won a contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, to convert a Ford Escape, and a contract with Xcel Energy to convert 6 Escapes to V2G capable PHEVs.
In 2007 Hybrids Plus started the development of the "Inverger," a bidirectional charger and inverter for vehicle-to-grid applications, funded in part by a grant from the State of Colorado, Governor's Energy Office.[2]
In the summer of 2008, a malfunction due to a manufacturing error[3] in one of its Prius PHEVs conversions resulted in a fire that destroyed the vehicle.[4] As a consequence, Hybrids Plus started a program to examine and upgrade each of the PHEV conversions it had manufactured. Afterward, Hybrids Plus completed only one more Prius PHEV conversion, and then discontinued that product line.[5]
In the fall 0f 2008, A123 contracted Hybrids Plus to recall all of the vehicles it converted, and remove A123's Li-Ion cells.
In April 2009, Hybrids Plus ceased. Its assets were absorbed by Eetrex, a company whose owners include some of the former owners of Hybrids Plus.
At the end of its life, Hybrids Plus was: