Connectivity-Enhanced Route Selection and Adaptive Control for the Chevrolet Volt

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory and General Motors evaluated connectivity-enabled efficiency enhancements for the Chevrolet Volt. A high-level model was developed to predict vehicle fuel and electricity consumption based on driving characteristics and vehicle state inputs. These techniques were leveraged to optimize energy efficiency via green routing and intelligent control mode scheduling, which were evaluated using prospective driving routes between tens of thousands of real-world origin/destination pairs. The overall energy savings potential of green routing and intelligent mode scheduling was estimated at 5% and 3%, respectively. Furthermore, these represent substantial opportunities considering that they only require software adjustments to implement.