Google, the world's most popular online search engine, doesn't seem like the kind of company that would be interested in automotive development. But then again, Google has a history of surprising us with interesting - if not revolutionary - pet projects.

The RechargeIT initiative may be one such project. It is part of Google.org - Google's self proclaimed "philanthropic arm." The overall goal of the RechargeIT initiative is to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases associated with global warming (mainly CO2), promote renewable energy sources, reduce reliance on foreign oil, and push forward the adoption of plug-in hybrids ("plug-ins") and vehicle-to-grid ("V2G") technologies.

To this end, Google has assembled a fleet of hybrid vehicles to test and tinker with - making all acquired data on vehicle performance available to the public. Some of this data can already be found on Google's website at: http://www.google.org/recharge/dashboard

One car that has done especially well so far in Google's preliminary test is the Toyota Prius Plug-in model. This vehicle, which must be charged using an exterior power source, is capable of fuel efficiency as high as 73.6 mpg with a CO2 emission of CO2e/mile. Compare this to a conventional Prius Hybrid, which gets 40.9 mpg and has a CO2 emission of 0.577 CO2e/mile.

So why use Plug-in Hybrid vehicles? Google explains: "Transportation related greenhouse gas emissions are responsible for roughly one third of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and at least 20% globally. In the US, over 60% of the transportation emissions result from gasoline consumption for personal vehicle use. We believe that plug-in hybrids capable of running on biofuels are the best near term option for significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector." Furthermore, "Plug-in hybrid vehicles can achieve 70 -100 miles per gallon, quadrupling the fuel economy of the average car on the road today (~20 mpg), and doubling the fuel economy of a regular hybrid car such as a Prius (~45 MPG). A plug-in hybrid is different from today's hybrid because it has a higher capacity battery and the car can be plugged into a regular 120-volt outlet for charging."

On the Google corporate campus, solar charging stations are used to produce the electricity needed to run the Plug-in Hybrids. According to Google, this "demonstrate[s] the role that renewable electricity can play in replacing gasoline and other fossil fuels in the transportation sector." Google also currently offers a  free car-sharing program to its employees at its Mountain View, CA headquarters.