Agassi’s Electric Car Network

Jan 29, 2008 Published under Environment, Marketing, Middle East, United States

One of the best ideas to come to our world in a long time comes courtesy of Shai Agassi and his American-Israeli company, Better Place. He realized that instead of worrying about the manufacturing of electric cars, he could accelerate their acceptance if he focused on the infrastructure network. And he created a model for leasing the batteries that will enable people to exchange their batteries at a ton of spots. Israel has embraced the project wholeheartedly, and I am told Palestine and Jordan will also be on board.

This is a great example of how good business can have so many additional bottomlines, helping the environment and fighting climate change, increasing economic cooperation among neighbors in a conflict region, and decreasing the need for scarce oil.

Read the article here: Israel Is Set to Promote the Use of Electric Cars

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comments

kent beuchert said:
Agassi’s idea did not originate with him – it has been floating around for many years. And it would never work for a country of any size, since the number of recharges required for a long trip are astronomical.
It is also a very inefficient method of supplying juice to power a car – the number of (very expensive) battery packs that Agasssi’s scheme requires far exceeds
a one to one ratio, driving up the cost of batteries even more. And the clumbsy recharge network is both high in manpower costs and costs in general. A 40 mile plug-in, like the GM Volt, has the ability to reduce gasoline consumption to such an extent (by over 93%
of commuting, for which accurate stats are available)
that there is nothing to be gained, and a lot to be lost ,
by insisting on a battery-only electric car fleet. Agassi
is playing the hero, and getting rich in th eprocess. Too bad Israel’s leaders are not up on the new transporation technologies. By the time Renault delivers their cars, they will have been made obsolete by the serial hybrids, like the BYD DM, Opel Flextreme, Satrun Flextreme, Chevy Volt, Fisker and others. If Israel only had a brain.

Daniel Lubetzky