Toyota will place ten of its Prius PHVs, equipped with lithium-ion batteries, in Oregon later this spring as part of the company’s global demonstration program. Portland State University will administer the program regionally.

Other US program partners include Qualcomm, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, Southern California Air Quality Management District, University of California, Berkeley, and University of Colorado.

Portland State University and Portland General Electric recently formed a strategic alliance around a shared vision of the Portland region as a leader in developing and implementing urban sustainability.

One primary thrust of the partnership is to promote “urban mobility,” which includes studying charging station infrastructure issues, rolling out test vehicle fleets, analyzing consumer response, and policy development. PSU and PGE are also working to bolster the region’s growing electric vehicle manufacturing, charging and supplier industry.

Other key partners in this project include the city of Portland; Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium, a National University Transportation Center based at Portland State University, and in partnership with University of Oregon, Oregon State University, and Oregon Institute of Technology (www.otrec.us); Zipcar, the world’s largest car sharing and car club service; the Portland Development Commission; and the state of Oregon.