Google's philanthropic arm, Google.org, is looking to invest $10 million to organizations that can help make plug-in hybrids a common sight on American roads in the near future. The effort, called RechargeIT.org, is currently in the Request for Investment Proposals (RFP) stage.

One of the most interesting aspects of the project is the pursuit of vehicle-to-grid tech, where charged cars could conceivably provide power to stabilize the grid and reduce the need to build more power plants.

Google explains:

Increasingly, there are ways for each of us and for corporations to generate electricity through renewable resources and store electricity that can be sold to a power company. There is significant potential for plug-in hybrids to also become power suppliers. This vehicle-to-grid ("V2G") approach may be particularly attractive when there are peaks in power consumption that a utility may not be able to handle through normal power generation. When utility demand exceeds normal generation capacity, the utilities resort to stand-by power generating sources (which often cause higher levels of emissions) and in extreme cases instituting rolling brownouts. At significant scale, plug-in hybrid batteries could help deliver power during peak times when it is often the most expensive. This could generate revenue for the car owner and help the utilities deal with peak demand.

If you're developing the "technologies, products and services" that mesh with their goals, the RFP deadline is October 22, 2007.

[via EcoGeek]