Green Tech

Better Place will test its battery-swapping service with electric cars used as taxis in Tokyo.

The project, funded by Japanese government agencies, will use as many as four cars converted to run on batteries. The taxis will be able to swap in fresh batteries at an existing station in Tokyo.

A test at Better Place's automated battery-swapping station in Japan earlier this year.

(Credit: Better Place)

Better Place is developing a service that will allow drivers to charge electric car batteries and to change out batteries at a network of swapping stations. It has signed partnerships to develop a number of networks, with the first expected in Israel.

The trial in Tokyo, scheduled to begin in January, will gather data on driving range and battery durability under urban driving conditions.

Better Place said Wednesday it hopes to the trial will lead to other battery-changing stations in cities. "This puts the Better Place battery switch system to use in a real-world application involving heavy-use vehicles that drive much more than the average passenger car," Kiyotaka Fujii, president of Better Place Japan, said in a statement.

All-electric cars will generally have a shorter range than gasoline cars--Nissan's Leaf and Coda Automotive's sedan are expected to have a roughly 100-mile range. But since many city dwellers don't have a dedicated electrical outlet outdoors, charging electric cars in urban areas can be challenging without public charging stations or battery-changing stations.

Earlier this year, Better Place successfully tested an automated car-changing station in Yokohama, Japan, where a car drives up a ramp and a machine pulls out a depleted battery, then slides in a fresh one.

To get more electric vehicles on the road, consumers should have the option to essentially lease the batteries, a University of California at Berkeley study argues.

The UC Berkeley Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology on Monday released an analysis that found that there are environmental and economic benefits to adopting electric vehicles, but the high cost of batteries is a persistent problem that remains a barrier to buyers.

A test at Better Place's automated battery-swapping station in Japan earlier this year.

(Credit: Better Place)

The study's author, economist Thomas Becker, argues that pay-per-mile service contracts--the rough equivalent of buying a service contract with a cell phone--and swappable batteries will hasten adoption rates. Separating the cost of the battery from the car will lower the upfront cost and battery-changing stations will give consumers more confidence that electric vehicles are reliable, he said.

Becker predicts that this sort of purchase will account for 64 percent of light vehicle sales by 2030. Calculating that electric vehicles are 10 to 13 cents per mile cheaper to own than gasoline cars, Becker forecasts that electric vehicles could account for 24 percent of the light-vehicle fleet by 2030.

The business model that Berkeley advocates is essentially what the company Better Place is pursuing. When consumers purchase an all-electric car covered in the Better Place plan, the company owns the batteries. Consumers get an electric charger at their home and access to battery-swapping stations. And consumer purchase one of a few monthly driving plans that correspond to different distances, according to Better Place

A number of governments have signed on for the initiative with the first network of home charging stations and swapping stations expected in Israel in the next few years.

Although Berkeley's Becker argues that separating batteries from electric vehicles will usher in mass adoption of electric vehicles, no other companies have been formed to offer a similar service. Better Place has signed on one car manufacturer--Renault-Nissan--to make cars with batteries that can be swapped out by machines.

Still, other car company executives have said that they are exploring battery leasing options that would give consumers the ability to upgrade batteries after a few years. Electric car maker Tesla Motors plans to include a swappable battery with the Model S sedan.

Separately, Better Place on Monday released results from an Ipsos survey that Better Place commissioned which showed strong consumer interest in electric vehicles, although for different reasons.

It found that 30 percent of U.S. car buyers are interested in going electric for their next vehicle with other countries that Better Place is pursuing showing even higher levels of interest.

The study found that the top concerns for wanting to buy an electric vehicle are reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil, concerns over air pollution or climate change, and concerns over terrorism.

Better Place on Tuesday showed off an automated electric vehicle battery-swapping station which takes about one minute to slip in a fresh battery.

The station in Yokohama, Japan is part of a government-sponsored test around electric vehicles. The vehicles being tested are modified Nissan SUVs that run entirely on batteries.

Fill 'er up: Better Place's electric vehicle swapping station being tested in Japan.

(Credit: Better Place)

The switching stations use robotic battery "shuttles" on a track system that remove a depleted battery for recharging and insert a fresh battery.

As the batteries are on the bottom of the car, a driver goes up a ramp and stays in the car during the battery exchange. The battery shuttles are designed to work with a variety of different battery sizes

At this site in Japan, the batteries are charged from a large solar photovoltaic array, making it zero-emissions driving, according to Better Place.

Better Place's business model is to sell customer a subscription service to charge batteries, which are owned by Better Place. Customers get access to charging stations at home and in public places as well as battery-swapping stations for longer rides.

The anticipated range from the electric cars--Better Place has signed on Renault-Nissan as a provider--will be about 100 miles. The company is setting up a network of charging stations in Israel and has agreements with other locations, such as Denmark, San Francisco, and Australia.

In an interview last month, Better Place founder and CEO Shai Agassi said that the company plans to test its components, such as battery-changing and car-charging stations, this year in anticipation of a market roll-out in 2011.

(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)

Shai Agassi is famously persuasive. With just an idea, he was able to raise $300 million to launch Better Place, a venture that plans to build electric car charging spots and battery switching stations in Israel, Denmark, San Francisco, and many other places.

He was able to convince Carlos Ghosn, the CEO of Renault-Nissan to build electric sedans with a battery pack that can be swapped out at Better Place's robot-assisted stations.

People in the auto industry seemed intrigued with Better Place's business model, where the company owns the batteries and the consumer buys a monthly contract to charge their cars.

But apart from Renault Nissan, no other automakers have signed on with Better Place. And industry executives have voiced skepticism on various aspects of Better Place's ambitious plan: Can one company build an electric vehicle charging infrastructure and operate it profitably? On a technical level, can battery packs be standardized in size for automated battery changing?

Said another way, nobody doubts that Agassi is a visionary with good intentions--to reduce the world's dependence on oil to help preserve the planet. People just wonder if he can make a business of it.

Next month, Better Place will show off a key piece of its technology in Yokohama, Japan: an automated system to switch out batteries. Cars drive up a ramp and a robot quickly removes a battery pack and puts a fresh one in.

During a talk at the Fortune Brainstorm Green conference on Tuesday, Agassi said that the company plans to test its technology components this year, test its charging networks next year, and then have "mass market" roll-out in 2011.

After his presentation, I sat down with Agassi, an Israel-born former SAP software executive, to get a better idea of where Better Place is going.

Question: This is a hugely ambitious project. Do you ever doubt that you're taking on too much?
Agassi: Not at all. Look, engineering is a very interesting discipline. You get into a room, you design, design, design. You write a bunch of white papers and you build a prototype. If you've built a prototype, the next question is can you build at scale and will it last?

... Read more

A Better Place-compatible Nissan Rogue in Hawaii.

(Credit: Better Place)

This interview was originally posted at CNET Australia. We have reposted it because the U.S. faces similar challenges to Australia in adopting electric-vehicle technology.

q&a We sat down with the CEO of Better Place Australia, Evan Thornley, to discuss how his company plans to make the electric car a reality in Australia.

Last year we reported on Better Place's deals with various national and state governments, such as Israel, Denmark, Hawaii, and California, to roll out infrastructure to assist in the adoption of electric vehicles (EV) from about 2011 onwards. This infrastructure will primarily consist of battery exchange stations, where drivers of Better Place compatible EVs can have their nearly depleted battery pack swapped out for a fully charged set, and EV charging points, located in homes as well as public places.

At the end of January, Evan Thornley was appointed as CEO of Better Place's Australian operations. Thornley was a founder of LookSmart and recently quit his seat in the Victorian State Parliament on the eve of his elevation to the ministry, raising the ire of the state's Liberal opposition. He and Guy Pross, the company's director of government affairs, sat down for a chat with CNET Australia about how Better Place plans to convert Australia's car fleet to electric vehicles.

CNET Australia: So why was Australia chosen?

Evan Thornley: Well, we think that this system works best for high-kilometer drivers. So the best way to prove that was to target a country which has plenty of those.

Could you please elaborate on how your system "works best for high-kilometer drivers?"

ET: Once the recharging infrastructure exists and the battery's sitting in the car, then, if you pay full commercial price for renewable energy, the energy costs of driving one kilometer down the road in an EV is about 1/7th the cost of driving that same kilometer using petrol.

Australia spends AU$20 billion to AU$30 billion a year on petrol, depending on the oil price and the currency. If we're able to convert the whole fleet over, then the renewable energy costs to power that fleet would be around AU$5 billion a year.

Who do we create the most value for the quickest then? The people who drive the most number of kilometers, because that's when we're displacing the largest amount of petrol. These drivers are the most attractive for us because, when you look at the lifetime cost of a car, much of it goes into the petrol tank not the vehicle itself.

California start-up Better Place and Danish utility Dong Energy said Tuesday they have lined up financing to bring an electric car charging network to Denmark by 2011.

The two organizations have secured almost $103 million in equity and convertible debt that will go toward constructing stations where drivers can swap in fresh batteries for electric cars.

(Credit: Better Place)

Better Place's business plan focuses on building a network of automated battery-swapping stations along driving corridors. Places to rapidly charge or get fresh batteries will address the range limitations of existing car batteries, according to Better Place.

Although Better Place has announced customers with the governments of Israel, Hawaii, Portugal, and San Francisco for its network of charging stations, Denmark appears to be the first to secure financing to build the charging infrastructure.

Once a network is set up, state-controlled Dong Energy said its excess wind power capacity can be used for charging electric cars. Denmark now gets 20 percent of its electricity from wind turbines, but a portion of that electricity is exported because it can't be stored economically.

"Our goal in investing in Better Place Denmark is to help reduce CO2 emissions and increase the consumption of sustainable energy by capturing and leveraging wind power more efficiently," Dong Energy CEO Anders Eldrup said in a statement.

The structure of the deal underlines the pieces auto industry executives say need to be in place before electric cars can be used by large numbers of consumers.

Utilities need to be involved to understand and manage the shift in power-grid load that electric cars bring. Government incentives need to be in place to overcome the higher cost of battery-powered vehicles. In Denmark, the government does not levy a sales tax on electric cars to promote their use.

The start-up also announced that it has hired former Microsoft Europe executive Jens Moberg as CEO of Better Place Denmark.

Better Place was founded in fall 2007 by Shai Agassi, former president of software giant SAP.

Japan's Ministry of the Environment announced a program on Tuesday to test electric vehicles and a network of charging stations, some supplied by auto start-up Better Place.

The electric vehicle feasibility study will give local governments access to 50 electric cars for several months. Cars included are Mitsubishi Motors' iMiev, the Plug-in Stella from Subaru, the Honda Clarity fuel-cell vehicle, and the Erezo electric motorbike under development.

Better Place will install battery exchange stations in the trial. The deal in Japan is similar to those made recently with several countries, the city of San Francisco, and the state of Hawaii that have signed on with Better Place, which has developed a system to accelerate electric car use through battery leasing and automated swapping.

The trial is part of Japan's national goal of having electric cars make up half of all new vehicle sales by 2020. The program will also include a facility for rapid car battery charging.

Automakers say they need an infrastructure, such as charging stations in public places, for their electric car programs to take hold.

The first electric versions of familiar sedans from the likes of Nissan and others will start becoming available in 2010, but they will largely be used for testing. Broader availability of these cars will be in 2011 and 2012.

The Better Place Rogue is an all-electric version of the Nissan Rogue crossover SUV.

(Credit: Better Place)

Hawaii has decided to partner with Better Place to bring car battery exchange stations for electric vehicles to the islands, Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle announced Tuesday.

Better Place stations, similar in concept to gas stations, offer drivers with electric vehicles an automated system that swaps out exhausted lithium ion car batteries for fully-charged ones. The swapping system is intended to be convenient for both drivers and local electric companies, since Better Place can recharge the exhausted batteries with excess electricity generated from renewable sources during off-peak electricity hours.

Lingle said the project is an example of Hawaii's efforts to gain independence from foreign oil, and to stimulate its economy through investment in energy technology.

Not surprising due to its geography, Hawaii spends about $7 billion a year on oil imports with its drivers facing some of the toughest prices at the pump in the U.S. The plan to implement Better Place stations coincides with the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI) intended to change that. Signed in January, it sets Hawaii's renewable energy bar at 70 percent clean energy by 2030, as well as encouraging programs that foster local economic growth.

Shai Agassi, founder and CEO of Better Place, was also on hand at the plan unveiling in Hawaii on December 2. According to Agassi, Hawaii is the second state in the U.S., and the fifth place in the world, to adopt the Better Place electric-car infrastructure. Better Place stations have already been implemented in Denmark and Israel, with Australia and California recently announcing intentions to add them.

"Hawaii, with its ready access to renewable energy resources like solar, wind, wave, and geothermal, is the ideal location to serve as a blueprint for the rest of the U.S. in terms of reducing our dependence on foreign oil, growing our renewable energy portfolio and creating an infrastructure that will stabilize our economy," Agassi said in a statement to the press.

Hawaii Electric is also onboard. The state's electric utility signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Better Place which plans to power its public charging and battery-swapping stations with renewable energy resources.

According to the plan, Better Place will pull permits for its stations in 2009, offer electric cars within 18 months, and make both available for the mass-market in Hawaii by 2012.

Better Place has said it's in talks with major automakers and would like to offer swappable batteries for any electric vehicle regardless of which company makes the car. But right now the company's stations only service two electric vehicles: the Renault Megane and the Better Place Rogue, an electric vehicle based on the Nissan Rogue crossover SUV.

Hawaii's plan with Better Place is to install about 20 electric battery-swapping stations across its islands.

(Credit: Better Place)

Better Place aims to bring its electric-car charging network to the Bay Area, where plans are afoot to promote battery-powered vehicles.

(Credit: Better Place)

Better Place aims by 2012 to bring a $1 billion electric-car infrastructure system to the California Bay Area, whose leaders unveiled policies Thursday to fast-track the adoption of electric cars.

The Palo Alto, Calif., start-up will apply its unique business model, followed in Israel, Denmark, and Australia, of providing the public stations to charge vehicles and swap out leased batteries.

Shai Agassi, Better Place founder and CEO, said he hopes to wrap up permitting in the Bay Area within the next year, roll out the infrastructure in 2010, and fine-tune its technology over the next several years as more electric cars come to market.

"We need to stop the conversation of whether this is Detroit versus Silicon Valley, whether this is Michigan versus California, and we need to start talking about this as the next generation of the car," he said. "We hope that by the time we deploy, we'll see our friends from Renault and Nissan but also the three U.S. manufacturers developing cars that have a plug, and have the ability to drive around the city and charge as they go."

Mayors Gavin Newsom of San Francisco, Chuck Reed of San Jose, and Ron Dellums of Oakland joined Agassi at San Francisco City Hall, promising to launch policies in December to support companies and consumers adopting electric cars. (The event was broadcast online via Webcast.)

Among their plans are expedited permitting for car-charging outlets with incentives for businesses and garages installing them or providing battery-swapping. The mayors also pledged to standardize regulations across the region, working with clean-air and transit programs.

"I believe the big game changer is electric vehicles and plug-in technology," said Newsom, explaining that transportation accounts for 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in California and exceeds 54 percent in San Francisco.

Widespread usage of electric vehicles over two decades would save consumers $175 billion in fuel costs and bring a $120 billion boon for battery makers, according to early results of a study by the Venture Lab at the University of California at Berkeley.

"Look what happened when we built ARPANET in 1979," said Robert Kennedy Jr., describing the rise of the personal computer. "The reason for that is we created the infrastructure that made it easy for manufacturers and consumers to take advantage of the technology." Kennedy is partner and senior adviser of VantagePoint Venture Partners, the biggest investor in Better Place.

In statements, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi praised the electric vehicle announcements for the potential to boost the economy and reduce pollution.