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THE ENERGY of Portland State’s Urban Center Plaza is audible, from the whir of MAX light rail to the streetcar’s distinctive chime. The red brick plaza is electric, and growing more so every day.

In recent months, the world’s largest automakers have used the plaza to show off the next generation of electric vehicles. And they are looking to Portland, and to PSU, to help steer them into the mainstream.

Car makers including Toyota, Nissan, Ford, and General Motors are beginning to roll out thousands of plug-in gas-electric hybrids and all-electric vehicles, betting that American drivers will trade volatile gas prices and polluting tailpipes for an overnight charge and lower-carbon ride. In Oregon, more than 1,100 public charging stations are planned along the I-5 corridor. And President Obama has set a goal of one million plug-in electric vehicles, or EVs, on U.S. roads by 2015.

It remains to be seen when—or if—EVs will catch on, beyond the eco-conscious and electric car enthusiasts. But PSU is part of the push, a partner with Portland General Electric in an array of efforts to pave the way for EVs in Oregon.

During the past three years, the University co-sponsored EV conferences that have lured car makers to Portland. Toyota picked PSU as one of six sites in the U.S. to test its newest plug-in hybrid. And in March, the University formed a partnership with PGE, the state’s largest utility, to study charging station issues and bolster Oregon’s reputation as an attractive launch market.

THE UNIVERSITY’S alliance with PGE has helped create momentum around EVs across the region, says Joe Barra, director of customer energy resources for PGE.

If PGE was tackling EV initiatives alone, “you wouldn’t have the synergy or the energy you’re going to get when you have a partner like PSU,” Barra says. “This partnership with the University really does provide a much broader perspective than if it was just the electric company inviting an EV manufacturer into town.”

PGE is looking to PSU—particularly to its Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium—for help in analyzing data gathered from test drivers and early adopters, says Barra. The utility and car makers want to understand where and when drivers charge EVs and what kind of trips they make. They are looking for answers to such questions as: Do they charge at home, at a public charging station, or both? Do they typically charge overnight, when electricity demand is lowest, or during peak daytime hours? Is the EV more often a family’s second car for short hops, or do drivers overcome “range anxiety” for longer trips?

PGE is considering building an “electric avenue,” a unique strip of on-street charging stations, at PSU by mid-2011, says Barra. The project will help spread EV awareness and provide an opportunity to study the performance of various charging technologies.

Portland State’s efforts will pay off in new research and could likely spur EV-related industries and jobs in Oregon, says George Beard MPA ’80, alliance manager in PSU’s Office of Research and Strategic Partnerships, who works closely with PGE and car makers.

AMERICAN BUSINESSES and consumers spent $900 billion on gasoline, diesel, and other refined petroleum products in 2008, according to the Electrification Coalition. The nation imports 58 percent of the oil it consumes, much of it from unstable regions or countries hostile to the U.S. Such dependence threatens the U.S. economy, security, and the environment, says Beard.

Both the gas-electric hybrids already on the road and new plug-in hybrids are powered by hybrid engines, which produce fewer carbon emissions than conventional gas-engine cars. But the new plug-ins, unlike current hybrids, can be charged from a standard wall outlet and travel as far as 13 miles before engaging the gas engine. The all-electric Nissan Leaf, which uses no gasoline and emits no carbon dioxide, can travel 100 miles on a charge.

“EVs are a means to an end,” says Beard. “The end is getting off oil.”

Portland, with the highest per capita hybrid registration of any U.S. city, offers a receptive testing ground for EVs, which can cost considerably more than similar-sized gas-engine cars. The federally funded EV Project chose Oregon as one of six states to build a national EV charging infrastructure.

As part of the EV Project, Nissan chose Oregon in December as one of its first markets for the Leaf electric car. PSU has been valuable as a “neutral third party” that can navigate among groups with a stake in the success of EVs, says Tracy Woodard, Nissan’s director of government affairs.

PSU IS ALREADY helping Toyota audition its new Prius Plug-in Hybrid. The University received 10 of the vehicles as one of six demonstration sites in the nation.

“Portland State has just been a fantastic partner at allowing us access to all of those different parties and stakeholders that might be involved in some way in the move to electric vehicles,” says Jana Hartline, environmental communications manager for Toyota Motor Sales USA. “They’ve served as a great gateway and facilitator for those relationships.”

Beard lent the new Toyotas to a rotating group of drivers, including Nancy Bond, a resource conservation specialist for Portland Public Schools.

Bond plugged the car into a standard wall outlet in her garage after work. In three and a half hours it was charged and ready for her commute from West Linn to school district headquarters near downtown Portland. No, it cannot make the 23-mile round trip on one charge, but it cut her gas mileage to an average 155 miles per gallon.

“It’s really very lovely to drive. I’m not worried about getting stranded if the battery runs out, because it just switches over to gas,” she says.

A mainstream embrace of EVs may be 20 to 30 years away, says Beard. But PSU is providing leadership now for both Oregon and the country.

“I am absolutely positive that we will be able to conclude that EVs will work for Oregonians most of the time,” he said. “If we can’t do it here, it ain’t gonna happen.”

Shelby Wood is a freelance writer based in Portland.

Photography by Kelly James