plug it in, plug it in

The history of the electric car is vast. We had EV’s as early as the 1890′s, Ford and Edison were in a partnership for an expansion in the 20′s and then the 70′s oil embargoes really started getting people talking. It should be mentioned that there was an equal lack of movement over the last ten years. However, the EV is back and its seems to be in full gear.

The biggest limitation to the boom: where do we all plug in our new cars? Well, an Israeli born investor, Shai Agassi, seems to have the solution:

(he) and his company, Better Place, come in. They are promoting a vision of an electric transportation future that includes a widespread charging network, with battery exchange stations (where, for longer trips, depleted packs are exchanged for new ones in just a few minutes), and their auto-company partners are planning to produce the electric cars and trucks that will be plugged into those stations.

Agassi, a former software entrepreneur, has been traveling throughout the world, targeting what he calls “transportation islands,” either actual islands or densely packed urban areas with plentiful commuters in a small area. He’s signed up nations (Israel, Denmark, Japan, Australia), states (Hawaii) and even cities (San Francisco) as partners. In some, but not all of those locations, Better Place is cooperating with the Renault-Nissan Alliance.

The difference in his system is that he has modeled it off of the cell phone industry: “The first is that we build the network ahead of the cars. The second is that the battery is part of the infrastructure — you own the car, but we own the batteries. Down the road, when there’s a magic battery with twice the capacity of the one in your car, we can swap it at no cost to you. And the third idea is that drivers will buy miles and pay as they consume them.”

There are limitations, however. The first one being that the battery used in EV’s needs to be improved. Research needs people and money. Will either of this exist given that cheap oil is back. There is also the criticism that we need to collectively move away from oil. Under the proposal, it will cost the individual $600 per year to charge up to 18,000 miles. That may not seem like a lot, but with rising costs in every sector, this may be an unreachable goal, leaving the electric car, like the Prius to the elite and not the people that need cost savings. Also, would you want to buy something, and invest that money, in something that has not been proven to work?

Obviously, there are logistics that need to be worked out. This is not to diminish a good idea, but it is to highlight what is truly realistic. There is an immediate need to move to alternative energies. And, since we know there is resistance to change, the reasons for “why not” will be quicker on the tongue than “why”. The creators of these ideas and models need to be able to answer those questions with definitive answers, not claim that “research is being done” or “money is needed.”

The article is via Yale 360 and can be found HERE.