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)
Electric-car infrastructure company Better Place has signed an agreement with AGL Energy and Macquarie Capital Group to raise 1 billion Australian dollars (about $665 million) to build a network of electric-car battery stations across Australia.
The company headed by former SAP executive Shai Agassi is best known for its innovative business model that is already being tested in Denmark and Israel.
Similar in concept to gas stations, Better Place offers a chain of electric-car battery stations at which an attendant will swap out a driver's exhausted lithium-ion battery for a newly recharged one.
Drivers belonging to a monthly subscription service gain unlimited access to Better Place stations and fully-charged batteries for their cars. While electric-car owners can still charge their cars at home, a series of stations gives them more flexibility to travel long distances despite a battery's limited range.
The service attempts to make electric cars more attractive by solving the range problem and issue of battery expense.
The service also saves drivers time since Better Place attendants, according to the company, can swap out a battery in about 3 minutes versus the few hours it takes to recharge a battery.
Keeping in mind that electricity is only as clean as its energy source, Better Place stations recharge their stocks of batteries using electricity from renewable resources. In the case of Denmark, Better Place batteries can be used to store excess electricity produced by wind energy.
The company has said it hopes to work with others to develop a car battery standardization so that it could service electric vehicles from any car company.
While Israel and Denmark have already begun to implement Better Place, getting Australia onboard gives the company a chance to prove its network and business model can work on a large scale.
The project already has the support of at least one prominent Australian.
"The Victorian Government supports any initiative that will have positive outcomes in reducing emissions in the transport sector and welcomes this innovative approach to help make broad adoption of EVs in Australia possible," Victorian Premier John Brumby said in a statement.
- prev
- 1
- next
