BETTER PLACE IN JAPAN

Shai Agassi’s vision just keeps getting grander. His original business model, now over a year old, was audacious but the way he has developed it is absolutely breathtaking.

In late 2007, Agassi announced he would use $200 million in venture capital to develop a system of charging stations and battery-swapping stations and market battery electric vehicles (BEVs) on a price + monthly mileage basis, mimicking the cellular phone business model. It will begin deploying its technology in 2009 in anticipation of being in business in 2010.

To make the use of EVs convenient, Better Place will build a system of charging stations everywhere local, commute-distance drivers will likely go (downtown curbsides, mall and office parking structures, neighborhoods and garages). Agassi describes the charging stations as like parking meters except that the driver takes electricity out instead of putting coins in.

To make EV use practical for long distance driving, Better Place will build a system of battery-swapping stations, never farther apart than the ultimate range of the vehicle’s battery (~ 100-to-200 miles at present). Agassi describes these stations as like car washes except the automated process swaps out a run-down battery for a fully charged one in less time than it takes to fill a car's gas tank.

It is far from clear that the Better Place scheme will succeed but it is quite clear there is real genius in Agassi’s dream and he continues to win adherents.

Agassi has locked down participation from the Israeli, Danish and Australian governments, the Governor of Hawaii and the Mayors of the metro San Francisco Bay area in his quest to deliver the world from oil dependence. Cleverly, each addition to the Better Place alliance represents unique qualities that will add to the company’s overall strength. (See HAWAII IS A GREAT PLACE FOR BETTER PLACE)

Elaborating on the original model, Agassi has in 2008 begun stressing development of the company in markets where increasing portions of the grid supply comes from New Energy sources. This makes participation cleaner, greener and more appealing to the user already inclined toward new technology adoption. It also makes partnering with Better Place more appealing to leaders trying to take their local, state and national constituencies in the New Energy direction.

The latest stroke of Agassi-lightning is winning a place for the Better Place battery exchange station technology in a Japanese government BEV feasibility study. Better Place is the only non-Japanese company in the study. Winning this place is tantamount to the Japanese government, home to the most successful auto industry in the world, pinning a gold star on the company.

Agassi could not be more pleased, not to mention buoyed. If this is a foot in the door of the Japanese market, it could be the opening that will make Shai Agassi into "Henry Ford of the BEV."

Shai Agassi, Founder/CEO, Better Place:“Better Place is honored to participate in this ground-breaking program in a country with so much auto-manufacturing expertise and history…We look forward to joining Subaru and other auto manufacturers in the project and demonstrating the feasibility of electric cars with swappable batteries to the rest of the industry. Japan is moving one step closer to the next-generation Car 2.0 model of electric cars fueled by renewable energy.”

Watch the battery swap. From Odziz via YouTube.

Better Place Joins Subaru, Other Japanese Carmakers In Ministry of Environment Electric Vehicle Project
8 December 2008 (Better Place)

WHO
Japan Ministry of Environment; Better Place (Shai Agassi, Founder/CEO); EV manufacturers (Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, makers of the i MiEV; Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., makers of the Subaru Plug-in Stella; Tokyo R&D Erezo electric motorcycle maker; Honda Motor Company, maker of the FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle);
Better Place Japan (Kiyotaka Fujii, head, former president/CEO, Louis Vuitton Japanese subsidiary and SAP Japan)

WHAT
Better Place was invited to participate in the Japanese Ministry of Environment’s Feasibility Study Related to Electric Vehicles

Fujii-san presents the battery swap station concept. (click to enlarge)

WHEN
- The Japanese EV project will begin in January 2009 and last 3-to-6 months.
- It will involve EVs to be introduced in the market in 2009 and 2010
- Better Place was founded in October 2007.
- Its 1st deployments are planned for 2010.
- The Japanese government’s goal is to have EVs be half of all new vehicles sold by 2020.

WHERE
- Japan is the world’s biggest auto-manufacturing nation.
- The study includes municipalities in Kanagawa, Aichi, Osaka, and Hyogo prefectures. Yokohama, in Kanagawa, will be the 1st Better Place battery exchange station demonstration location.
- Better Place also has partners in Israel, Denmark, Australia, Hawaii and California.
- Better Place Japan’s Fujii will be based in Tokyo and head the company’s Asia Pacific region.

WHY
- The study exemplifies Japan’s focus on developing next-generation vehicles and the
government’s support of the move to sustainable transportation.
- The goal is to increase adoption of electric vehicles in Japan.
- Better Place is the only invited non-Japanese company.
- The Better Place role in the study is to demonstrate its battery-exchange technology in which a depleted EV battery is removed and a fully-charged one is installed in a quick, convenient process.
- Quick battery exchange allows the use of EVs over an extended range
- Vehicles in the study: (1) 5 Mitsubishi Motors Corporation i MiEVs, (2) 15 Fuji Heavy Industries Subaru Plug-in Stellas, (3) 1 Better Place Battery exchange vehicle, (4) 30 Tokyo R&D Erezo electric motorcycles, (6) 1 Honda Motor Company FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle
- Electric Charging Infrastructure for the study: 1 Better Place Battery Exchange Station and 1 unidentified High Speed Electric Charging facility
- Being chosed for the Japanese project is the latest example of the Better Place business model’s international acceptance.

click to enlarge

QUOTES
- Kiyotaka Fujii, head, Better Place Japan: “While Japan has succeeded in building a robust economy, it should reduce its dependence on oil and lower its carbon footprint. Japan also should look to be a leader in support of electric vehicles by investing in electric charging infrastructure…I’m confident that the collaboration between the public and private sectors represented by the Ministry of Environment project will provide major impetus for the adoption of electric vehicles in Japan.”
- Shai Agassi, Founder/CEO, Better Place: “The Better Place model works across cultures and continents and no one is more qualified and better suited to ensure Japan moves forward in terms of sustainable transportation and energy than Fujii-san…When he led SAP Japan, business expanded threefold. He’s the type of leader we want spearheading our efforts in Asia Pacific.”