NORTHBROOK, Ill., Jan. 27, 2010 - Underwriters Laboratories (UL), a global leader in safety testing and certification, has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the non-profit Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) to support Project Get Ready, an initiative to aid U.S. cities preparing for widespread adoption and use of electric vehicles (EVs) in their communities. 

As a technical advisor, UL will contribute its technical judgment and expertise to the on-going process of sharing information, lessons learned and best practices among the various project's stakeholders.  UL's engineers will answer questions about EVs and EV infrastructure as well as review and provide feedback on drafts of key documents RMI distributes to project stakeholders.  These stakeholders represent at least 20 different U.S. cities that are pioneers in the adoption of cleaner transportation.  Project Get Ready leverages the Internet to share key learnings and experiences through an interactive database that captures the collective knowledge of participants.

According to RMI, the potential impact of the project promises to be enormous: by 2015, approximately 1 million EVs are expected on the road with five times that many expected by 2020. Use of EVs in Asia and Europe is expected to grow at a similar pace.  Being able to charge EVs safely is critical for the adoption and proliferation of EVs and EV infrastructure in the United States and around the globe.  

"Widespread use of electric vehicles in communities can only be achieved if both commercial users and consumers have an easy, fast and readily available way to charge their vehicles safely," said Joseph Bablo, UL's technical expert on EVs and the RMI primary contact.  "As a technical advisor, UL can share its experience with communities grappling with the safety challenges around building and maintaining their electrical vehicle infrastructure."

UL's involvement with Project Get Ready is just one of the activities UL has underway to support development of a safe infrastructure for EVs.  Applying more than a century of experience in safety testing and certification, UL is supporting EV advancement by developing safety standards for batteries and infrastructure components, evaluating new technologies hitting the global market place, and working with regulatory authorities to identify and address safety and environmental concerns. 

About Underwriters Laboratories

Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is an independent product safety certification organization that has been testing products and writing Standards for Safety for over a century. For more information, visit About UL.

About RMI

Rocky Mountain Institute® (RMI®) is an independent, entrepreneurial, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. RMI drives the efficient and restorative use of resources to make the world secure, just, prosperous, and life-sustaining.  RMI's research and consulting staff works with businesses, communities, and organizations around the world in three interconnected practices: the built environment, energy and resources, mobility and vehicle efficiency.  RMI's work incorporates a unique blend of whole-system thinking, integrative design, end-use/least-cost analysis, and an interdisciplinary knowledge of advanced technologies and techniques.  For more information, visit http://www.rmi.org/.