The Hertz Corp. and IBM are working together on an electric vehicle (EV) pilot program in Germany, whereby Hertz On Demand will supply EVs to the car-sharing fleet used by IBM employees to drive between Stuttgart Airport and the company's campus in Ehningen, about 18 miles away.

The companies are using this program as a field test to assess EVs and intelligent charging infrastructure. The EVs provided by Hertz will be charged using decentralized renewable energy generation on the IBM campus, and the charging stations will be operated with intelligent IBM software that optimizes power usage.

Discounted charging rates have been available to IBM staff since October 2011 as part of the special car-sharing agreement in place between the IBM campus in Ehningen and Stuttgart Airport.