With over 1.3 billion people, it is no wonder that China is the “tipping point” when it comes to electric vehicles (EV). At least that’s what Better Place CEO Shai Agassi says.
Better Place, a venture-backed company that aims to reduce global dependency on oil, doesn’t sell cars but infrastructure. The company recently unveiled a battery swap system in Tokyo that makes refueling an EV easier than filling up at the pump. The $500,000 station allows drivers to travel long distances without having to stop to charge their battery, eliminating EV’s ever present “range anxiety.” Batteries are quickly and easily swapped out so drivers can get back on the road.
But infrastructure is just part of the picture, and Agassi says that China is taking steps toward green-lighting electric cars in a big way. “Once China does it, you don’t have a choice,” Agassi said.
[UPDATE]: Video of the switching station in action and photos added below.
YOKOHAMA, JAPAN- Last night at approximately 10:30 PM PST (1:30 AM EST), electric vehicle services provider Better Place will demonstrate key elements of their battery switching station technology. This is the first public exhibition of a battery switching station—which Better Place lauds as the final piece of a “total electric vehicle solution.” The company was invited by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment to set up an exhibit in Yokohama.
“Range anxiety,” as it’s called, describes the most fundamental fear expressed by would-be adopters of electric vehicles. It’s no different than the fear of driving through sparsley inhabited parts of the United States, where it’s important to know your car’s mileage and the distance to the next gas station.
If you missed the discussion last week, we had the Mayors of two major cities—San Francisco and Portland—weighing in on electric vehicle charging infrastructure. In the coming weeks, we’re looking forward to hearing from other cities about their plans for EV infrastructure, but we also wanted to make sure the private sector had a chance to chime in.
Editor’s Note: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has written an exclusive guest post on this topic here on Gas 2.0 earlier this same day.
At approximately 10:00 AM PST today, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom will announce the installation of three electric vehicle charging stations in front of City Hall. The stations will be used by plug-in electric vehicles already in San Francisco’s municipal fleet, along with plug-in electric hybrids owned by car-sharing organizations City CarShare and Zipcar.
The charging stations were provided for a two-year public demonstration by “Smartlet” manufacturer Coulomb Technologies—one of the few companies vying for primacy in the business of building or supplying EV charging stations.
Before it brings its much ballyhooed Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid to American streets, General Motors Corp. is laying out a “roadmap” for getting metro areas ready for the arrival of plug-in vehicles.
At the Washington Auto Show, the troubled automaker said it will collaborate with San Francisco and Washington D.C. to ensure that the proper policies and infrastructure are in place for the time when plug-ins such as the Volt start hitting the streets.
GM says it will work with everyone from governments to utilities to permitting and codes officials to prep for the launch. Among the challenges that need to be tackled, GM says, are consumer incentives, charging infrastructure and the codes and permits to allow charging stations to be installed, commercial and government fleet purchases, and utility rates that encourage plug-in use.
OK, so I haven’t posted a weekly green news roundup in a while, but I’m getting back to making it a regular feature as of today. So what are the green scoops across the U.S. this week? There’s plenty:
Over in Dallas, for instance, officials and urban designers are gathering today for an all-day “charrette” (or brainstorming session) to figure out what it would take to create a fully sustainable city block. They hope to follow up their meeting with an international competition to design just such a thing. (You can read more here (PDF)).
Move over California. Hawaii is taking the lead on this one. The island state announced Tuesday that it will be the first state to have a comprehensive electric-car station program.
The Better Place plan solves the current problem with electric cars, which is slow battery recharging as well as availability. The solution is to use existing electric car technologies together with an internet-connected web of recharging stations (set up in the thousands).
Shai Agassi founded Better Place in October of 2007 with $200 million in venture capital. The vision of Better Place is to reduce global dependency on oil by creating a market-based transportation infrastructure that supports electric vehicles and renewable energy.
Within the first six months of its founding, Better Place forged cooperative agreements with business and government in Israel and Denmark, most recently announcing a deal to bring Better Place to Australia. And with today’s announcement the electric car infrastructure model is set to come to California, starting in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens has received a glut of media attention recently for his plan to develop the largest wind power project in the world. Now the New York Times suggests that Pickens might have a visionary counterpart in Shai Agassi, an Israeli software entrepreneur obsessed with making Israel the world leader in electric cars.
Agassi, along with his company Better Place, have an Israeli government-backed plan to create an electric car program that will give subscribers access to a car, a battery, and outlets across Israel. Subscribers will also be able to swap dead batteries for fresh ones in designated garages.
Better Place will run the smart grid that charges the electric cars. The company is also currently contracting for enough solar energy energy to power the whole fleet, which will roll out next year with 500 cars built by Renault.
But Agassi’s vision doesn’t end with Israeli electric cars.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, along with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, and San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed joined 
