DRIVER (PROJECT BETTER PLACE)

A Ha’aretz writer took a skeptical look at Shai Agassi’s incredibly ambitious Project Better Place (PBP).

PBP is a plan to establish charging stations and battery charging stations around a small country (like Israel or Denmark) or a city (like San Francisco or New York) and sell electric vehicles (EVs) cheap with contracts for monthly electricity usage (like cell phones).

The concept has won enormous enthusiasm around the world. Denmark has signed on. The mayors of New York City and San Francisco have indicated they want to.

The project has 3 parts: (1) a network of electrical outlets and charging stations in accessible places (streets, parking lots and garages), (2) replacement of used batteries with fully charged batteries, and (3) low cost cars sold with subscriptions for time-of-use electricity.

Key: Price must be worth the transition.

Footnote: The skeptic admits emissions from the EV, regardless of the source of the electricity, beats the emissions from a gas vehicle but complains attention to PBP takes attention away from the most emissions-efficient form of travel, public transportation. He has obviously never lived in Los Angeles. It is also true, alas, that the LA freeways might be safer than Israeli buses.

PBP’s intro to its electric vehicle (EV) concept. From odziz via YouTube.

Will Israeli inventor’s electric car be the smooth ride it claims to be?
Daniel Schmil, 30 September 2008 (Ha’aretz)

WHO
Project Better Place (PBP) (Shai Agassi, founder/CEO)

WHAT
Ha’aretz’s Schmil takes a skeptical look at Agassi’s ambitious PBP.

How it works. From PBP via YouTube.

WHEN
- Recently: PBP public relations campaign awarded prize
- 2008: PBP wins discounted tax rate for zero emissions vehicles from Israeili inter-ministerial committee.
- 2009: 1st experiment with charging infrastructure scheduled
- 2011: Full-scale implementation of PBP
- Postponed: Development of battery-switching stations.

WHERE
- PBP chose Israel for its 1st trial because it is a small nation where long commutes are not common and there is relatively little cross-border ravel because there are enemies across every border.
- If all goes well in Israel, PBP's next trial will be in Denmark.
- Agassi is in discussions with several cities, including London, New York and San Francisco.

WHY
- PBP founder/CEO Agassi was named a Time Magazine Hero of the Environment 2008.
- Schmill charges that PBP’s PR campaign used manipulative techniques to win attention from Israeli media (granting ‘exclusives” and “1st publication” rights) and to generate a “buzz” for its approach, inclining Israeli politicians toward granting the tax break subsidy.
- The PR campaign brought along municipal authorities as well as the national political leaders.
- Charging networks are not new and are established in other cities (ex: London). The only requirement: A cooperative utility. The Israel Electric Corporation is enthusiastic for PBP.
- The main disadvantage: EV travel range is shorter than that of a gas-driven vehicle’s range on a tank of gas and the long time required to charge the EV’s battery is much longer than that required to fill a gas tank.
One PBP solution is to switch out batteries similar to switching batteries in a smaller device like an iPod or TV remote control.
- EV batteries weigh ~200 kilograms and are flammable, so are hard to get out and hard to lift, making switching them even harder than changing batteries in smaller devices.
- Future improvements in battery technology (longer ranges, shorter driving times) could make battery switching stations unnecessary.
- Though drawn from the cell phone contract concept, the PBP payment model is very like a standard car lease.

Shai Agassi talks about PBP in the U.S. From gigaom via YouTube.

QUOTES
Schmil: “The electric car will speed on ahead, thanks to public enthusiasm and government support. Agassi will offer urban electric transportation, with charging points located close to home. What is still unknown is whether electric cars will succeed in replacing gasoline-fueled cars and will become a favored mode of transportation outside cities, too. This success depends on the technology of exchanging batteries and the car's economic feasibility. Agassi will also encounter competition on the part of other technologies, including sophisticated hybrid drives and instant charging.”