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{{Main|Electric vehicle network}}
{{Main|Electric vehicle network}}
Many companies, in addition to Better Place, are installing [[electric vehicle network|charging station networks]]. In France, [[Électricité de France]] (EDF) and [[Toyota]] are installing recharging points for PHEVs on roads, streets and [[parking lot]]s.<ref>{{cite web | publisher=Électricité de France | date=2007-09-05 | url=http://www.edf.fr/105819i/Accueil-com/presse/communiques-et-dossiers-de-presse/Noeud-Communiques-et-Dossier-de-presse/EDF-et-Toyota-annoncent-un-partenariat-technologique-en-Europe-relatif-aux-vehicules-hybrides-rechargeables.html | title=EDF et Toyota annoncent un partenariat technologique en Europe relatif aux véhicules hybrides rechargeables | accessdate=2007-10-10}}</ref> EDF is also partnering with Elektromotive, Ltd.<ref>{{cite web | publisher=Elektromotive, Ltd. | url=http://www.elektromotive.co.uk | title="Elektromotive: The ultimate zero-emission transport system" | accessdate=2007-10-26}}</ref> to install 250 new charging points over six months from October 2007 in [[London, England|London]] and elsewhere in the UK.<ref>{{cite web | author=Reynolds, L. | date=2007-10-11 | url=http://www.batteryvehiclesociety.org.uk/wordpress/?p=260 | title="UK to install 250 new public charging stations by next spring" | publisher=The Battery Vehicle Society | accessdate=2006-10-26}}</ref> [[Coulomb Technologies]] has deployed their ChargePoint charging station network throughout the USA. In March, 2009, [[Tesla Motors]] announced a partnership to deploy battery swap stations to service their [[Tesla Model S|Model S]] platform cars.<ref name="Ramsey2009">{{cite web|url=http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/03/26/tesla-model-s-50-000-ev-sedan-seats-seven-300-mile-range-0-6/|title=Tesla Model S: $50,000 EV sedan seats seven, 300-mile range, 0-60 in 5.5s|last=Ramsey|first=Jonathon|date=2009-03-26|publisher=autobloggreen|accessdate=2009-04-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite press |url=http://www.teslamotors.com/blog2/?p=74 |title=Clearing the Air on our DOE Loan |date=2009-09-28 |accessdate=2009-10-12 |author=Diarmuid OConnell, Vice President of Business Development, [[Tesla Motors]] }}</ref> The [http://www.evchargermaps.com/ EV Charger Maps] project managed by [http://www.evchargernews.com/ EV Charger News] is a volunteer effort that manages a list of charging stations around the country with practical information targeted to electric vehicle owners. Recharging points also can be installed for specific uses, as in [[taxi stand]]s.
Many companies, in addition to Better Place, are installing [[electric vehicle network|charging station networks]]. In France, [[Électricité de France]] (EDF) and [[Toyota]] are installing recharging points for PHEVs on roads, streets and [[parking lot]]s.<ref>{{cite web | publisher=Électricité de France | date=2007-09-05 | url=http://www.edf.fr/105819i/Accueil-com/presse/communiques-et-dossiers-de-presse/Noeud-Communiques-et-Dossier-de-presse/EDF-et-Toyota-annoncent-un-partenariat-technologique-en-Europe-relatif-aux-vehicules-hybrides-rechargeables.html | title=EDF et Toyota annoncent un partenariat technologique en Europe relatif aux véhicules hybrides rechargeables | accessdate=2007-10-10}}</ref> EDF is also partnering with Elektromotive, Ltd.<ref>{{cite web | publisher=Elektromotive, Ltd. | url=http://www.elektromotive.co.uk | title="Elektromotive: The ultimate zero-emission transport system" | accessdate=2007-10-26}}</ref> to install 250 new charging points over six months from October 2007 in [[London, England|London]] and elsewhere in the UK.<ref>{{cite web | author=Reynolds, L. | date=2007-10-11 | url=http://www.batteryvehiclesociety.org.uk/wordpress/?p=260 | title="UK to install 250 new public charging stations by next spring" | publisher=The Battery Vehicle Society | accessdate=2006-10-26}}</ref> [[Coulomb Technologies]] has deployed their ChargePoint charging station network throughout the USA. In March, 2009, [[Tesla Motors]] announced a partnership to deploy battery swap stations to service their [[Tesla Model S|Model S]] platform cars.<ref name="Ramsey2009">{{cite web|url=http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/03/26/tesla-model-s-50-000-ev-sedan-seats-seven-300-mile-range-0-6/|title=Tesla Model S: $50,000 EV sedan seats seven, 300-mile range, 0-60 in 5.5s|last=Ramsey|first=Jonathon|date=2009-03-26|publisher=autobloggreen|accessdate=2009-04-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite press |url=http://www.teslamotors.com/blog2/?p=74 |title=Clearing the Air on our DOE Loan |date=2009-09-28 |accessdate=2009-10-12 |author=Diarmuid OConnell, Vice President of Business Development, [[Tesla Motors]] }}</ref> The [http://www.evchargermaps.com/ EV Charger Maps] project managed by [http://www.evchargernews.com/ EV Charger News] is a volunteer effort that manages a list of charging stations around the country with practical information targeted to electric vehicle owners. Recharging points also can be installed for specific uses, as in [[taxi stand]]s.

== Controversy ==

Palestinian American activist [[Ali Abunimah]] claimed in an article published in the [[Electronic Intifada]] website that Better Place "has become a flagship" for the new strategy "to soften Israel's image, especially in the wake of the UN-commissioned [[Goldstone report]] into Israeli [[war crimes]] and [[crimes against humanity]] in the [[Gaza Strip]]", and to "greenwash [[Israeli settlement|settlements]]". It accuses Better Place of supporting [[Israeli-occupied territories|occupation]] by "developing transport infrastructure for Jewish-only settlements built in the occupied [[West Bank]] in violation of [[international law]]". It also accuses Better Place's officials of expressing "an explicitly anti-Muslim and anti-Arab agenda" and of having direct ties with the Israeli military establishment (Better Place Israel's CEO is former general [[Moshe Kaplinsky]], who commanded Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank during the [[Second Intifada|second Palestinian intifada]] and was also deputy chief of staff of Israel's army during its [[2006 Israel-Lebanon war|2006 war on Lebanon]]).<ref name=EI>{{cite web|url=http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11238.shtml|title=Quartet ex-envoy's investment helps Israel greenwash settlements |last=Abunimah|first=Ali|date=2010-05-06}}</ref>


== See also ==
== See also ==

Revision as of 02:11, 10 May 2010

This article is about the company. For the film, see A Better Place.
Better Place
Company typeVenture backed private
IndustryTransport
Founded2007
FounderShai Agassi
Headquarters
Palo Alto, California
,
U.S.
Key people
Shai Agassi (Founder)
Idan Ofer (Chairman)
Ziva Patir (Vice President, International Standardization)
Moshe Kaplinsky (BP Israel CEO)
Evan Thornley (BP Australia CEO)
Kiyotaka Fujii (BP Head Asia Pacific-Japan)
Lawrence Seef (Head of Business Development, Americas)
Aliza Peleg (VP of Operations)
Joe Paluska(Chief Marketing Officer)
Jens Moberg(BP Denmark CEO and head of BP EMEA business Development)
Karen Alter(Marketing Vice President)
ProductsElectric cars and recharging stations on subscription
WebsiteBetterPlace.com

Better Place is a venture-backed company based in Palo Alto, California that aims to reduce global dependency on petroleum through the creation of a market-based transportation infrastructure that supports electric vehicles.

Better Place is building its first electric vehicle network in Israel, and among its partners has selected Denmark and Hawaii[1] as the other two test markets due to their small size.[2] The electricity needed will be generated by renewable energy from solar arrays and wind farms.[2] Denmark and Israel have enacted policies, which create a tax differential between zero-emission vehicles and traditional cars,[3][4] to accelerate the transition to electric cars. Better Place plans to deploy the infrastructure on a country-by-country basis with initial deployments beginning in 2010 and commercial sales beginning in 2012.

The company has said it is in talks with more than 25 additional regions around the world.[5] Australia,[6] Ontario,[7] Oregon,[8] and California[9] also have announced deployment of Better Place electric car networks. The Company opened its first functional charging station in Israel the first week of December 2008 at Cinema City in Pi-Glilot, and additional stations in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Kfar Sava, Holon, and Jerusalem are being planned and installed.[10] Better Place's primary R&D facility is located in Tel Aviv, Israel.[11]

Launch

The company was publicly launched, as Project Better Place, by Shai Agassi on October 29, 2007. As of April 2009 it has already raised $400 million and several countries and states have offered tax breaks.[2][12]

In January 2008, Better Place announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Renault-Nissan to build the world's first Electric Recharge Grid Operator (ERGO) model for Israel. Under the agreement, Better Place will build the electric recharge grid, and Renault-Nissan will provide the electric vehicles. In 2009, Better Place expects to deploy hundreds of charging stations as the company moves toward wide-scale deployment in 2011.[13][14][15] Renault has committed to spend $600 million over three years to develop a car with swappable batteries, in time to the 2011 deployment.[2] Renault will offer electric models of existing vehicles, like the Mégane sedan, but at competitive prices to similar gasoline models.[14]

Cars and batteries

The Renault Fluence Z.E. is the first EV that will be available on the Better Place network, with sales slated for 2011.

The first prototype cars is the Renault Laguna with a battery instead of a fuel tank and an electric motor instead of an internal combustion engine.[16] The battery is a Lithium iron phosphate ion device.[17] The range of the car running on just one battery is from about 160 kilometres (99 mi)*[18] to 190 kilometres (120 mi).[19] By replacing the battery at a service station, the range between longer charging stops is limited only by the geographical distribution of the battery-swapping infrastructure.[16]

The second demo car is the Nissan eRogue, an electric car based on the Renault-Nissan Rogue, half way between a sedan and an SUV in size.[20]

The Renault Fluence Z.E. was announced at the Frankfurt Motor Show on September 15, 2009 as the first electric car to be available on the Better Place network using a switchable battery.[21] In April 2010 Renault announced that sales of the Fluence Z.E. are scheduled for 2011 in Israel, Denmark and the rest of Europe.[22]

The floor-mounted battery packs in these electric cars are designed to be changed out in only a few minutes, allowing for battery-swap services like those proposed by Better Place and Tesla Motors.[23] Better Place expects battery packs to cost between US 4¢ and 5¢ per mile over their life[24], provide the cars with a 160 km (100 mi) range per charge, perform for 2000 recharge cycles, and last for 8 years.[25]

Battery-switching stations

Prototype EVs charging at the Better Place visitor centre in Pi-Glilot, Israel.

Better Place has implemented a battery-switch station (also called battery-swap station) allowing drivers to exchange their car's depleted battery pack for a fully recharged one in under a minute; similar to how warehouses manage batteries for electric forklifts.[26][27][28] With enough battery switching stations, drivers will have less concern about running out of charge and will spend much less time charging on long distance trips. While each exchange station will cost $500,000,[29] Better Place CEO Shai Agassi has said that cost is half the price of a typical gas station.[30]

On May 12, 2009, Better Place premiered their battery switching station to the public in Yokohama where BP had been invited by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment.[31] The battery switching station demonstrated was set up similarly to a gas station automatic car wash. The vehicle drove up on a ramp and was aligned on the swapping pad. The battery shuttle then engaged and rose up toward the bottom of the vehicle. It made contact with the battery, released it, lowered it, and moved the depleted battery pack away from the car. The charged battery pack was then inserted. The discharged battery was returned to the charging bay. The battery switch was complete in less than two minutes and the vehicle drove away.[32][33] The battery swap is designed to require less time than filling a tank of gas.[34][35] In order to keep electric vehicles in demand, Better Place has started initiatives to keep the vehicles competitive with the other cars on the market. By building infrastructure that makes owning an electric car more practical, they hope to increase demand. This is a central concern many automakers have expressed and addressing that concern will help spur the mass production of electric vehicles.[36]

The first prototype battery switch station demonstrated in Yokohama, Japan on May 14, 2009 was designed by Yoav Heichal, chief engineer for Better Place research and development group.[37]

The company has signed an agreement with Dor Alon Energy to install battery replacement points, which will run alongside the gas stations' normal business. A pilot will be launched within the next few weeks. Dor Alon CEO Israel Yaniv said, "Dor Alon is the first energy company that will enable owners of electric car owners of the future to obtain electric refueling services at its gas stations. We consider this agreement with Better Place to be a strategic partnership that will create real value and innovation for the company's activity."[38]

On April 2010, a 90 day switchable-battery electric taxi demonstration project was launched in Tokyo, using three Nissan gasoline-powered crossover utility vehicles, converted into electric taxis with switchable batteries provided by A123 Systems. The battery switch station deployed in Tokyo is more advanced than the Yokohama switch system demonstrated in 2009.[39][40][41]

Investors

The company has raised funding from various sources including, VantagePoint Venture Partners, Israel Corporation (33% ownership),[42] Israel Cleantech Ventures, Morgan Stanley, Acorns to Oaks II, Esarbee Investments Canada, GC Investments LLC, Musea Ventures, Ofer Group, Vyikra Partners, Wolfensohn & Co. and Maniv Energy Capital.[43][44]

Better Place announced agreements with AGL Energy and financial advisor Macquarie Capital Group to raise $1 billion (Australian) and begin deploying an electric vehicle (EV) network powered by renewable energy. According to Better Place, their model for sustainable mobility will help Australia move toward oil independence. With the world’s seventh highest per capita rate of car ownership, the country has nearly 15 million cars on the road after adding over a million new cars last year.[45]

In January 2010, as Israel Corporation completed its investment of $100 million in the company,[46] a consortium of investors signed a deal to invest a further US$350 million in Better Place, citing their confidence that "Better Place has the technical and commercial solutions to allow for the mass adoption of electric cars in the near term." The consortium is led by HSBC, which invested $125 million, and includes Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Lazard Asset Management. The deal represents one of the largest financial investments of its kind by HSBC, which will gain a seat on the Better Place board of directors and approximately 10% of the company's shares.[43]

Partners

In May 2008, the company presented a prototype of its electric car at a press conference in Tel Aviv. Shai Agassi estimated that the company's partner, the Renault-Nissan alliance, would likely invest $500 million to $1 billion in developing the swappable-battery electric cars.[47]

Better Place has also announced plans to develop electric recharge grids in the city of San Francisco[48] and the state of Hawaii.[49]

Better Place will work with Australian finance group Macquarie, which pledged to fund the construction of plug-in stations, and Australian utility AGL Energy, which has committed to powering those stations with renewable electricity.[50]

Economic Model

Better Place anticipates implementing an economic model wherein customers enter into contracts to purchase driving distance similar to the mobile telephone industry where customers contract for minutes of airtime. The initial cost of an electric vehicle may also be subsidized by the ongoing per-distance revenue contract just as mobile handset purchases are subsidized by per-minute mobile service contracts. Better Place plans initially to charge US$0.08/mile in 2010, then US$0.04/mile by 2015 and US$0.02/mile by 2020. The electric cars will be built and sold separately from their Better Place battery pack "fuel" akin to the way that petrol cars are sold separately from their fuel. Customers will not be allowed to purchase battery packs; instead, they must lease them from Better Place.[51] The per-distance fees cover battery pack leasing, charging and swap infrastructure, purchasing sustainable electricity, profits, and the cost of investor capital.[34] Better Place has requested that governments mandate the use of international standards and open access to recharge across charging networks to facilitate competing networks.[52] Standardization efforts such as SAE J1772, however, have not yet yielded global consensus as of August, 2009. Better Place has displayed Charge Spot charging stations that use a connector with the same pin layout as SAE J1772-2009 but housed in a non-standard, triangular plug.[53] They have also displayed a wall mounted charging station using MENNEKES's IEC 62196 receptacle.[54][55] Battery pack exchanges outside of Better Place's network will not be allowed and pack standardization efforts have not yet been initiated. Better Place has pre-sold enough contracts to make their first deployed network in Israel profitable at launch.[56]

Response

In March 2008, Deutsche Bank analysts issued a glowing report stating that the company's approach could be a "paradigm shift" that causes "massive disruption" to the auto industry, and which has "the potential to eliminate the gasoline engine altogether."[57] Three months later, the same institution issued a second report, finding “electric vehicles destined for much more growth than is widely perceived”. The same report states that “[i]mprovements in battery technology will allow for increased power, increased electrical propulsion, and bigger gains in fuel economy.”[58]

On June 26, 2008, Shai Agassi testified before the United States House of Representatives Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, chaired by Representative Ed Markey of Massachusetts. The hearing, titled “$4 Gasoline and Fuel Economy: Auto Industry at a Crossroads,” dealt with the future role of the auto industry and the federal government in fighting gas prices and the fuel economy standards proposed in response to the enactment of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007.[59]

By country

Australia

In Australia a roll out of the network will begin in the major eastern coast cities before being rolled out nationally. It is estimated that 500 charge stations would give comparable coverage to the existing 13,000 petrol stations presently in operation. The total cost of this roll out would be between $1 to $1.25 Billion AUD. Currently Australia spends $20 to $30 Billion AUD on fuel.[60] The roll out of the Australian network is estimated to be 6 months to a year after the roll out of the network in Denmark. The switch to electric transport is estimated to increase the current grid load by 7%.[61]

China

Better Place signed a memorandum of understanding with Chery Automobile, China's biggest independent carmaker, to develop prototypes for electric vehicles to be used in regional state-sponsored pilot projects.[62]

Awards

Edmunds.com has selected battery-charging infrastructure developers Coulomb Technologies and Better Place as recipients of its first annual Green Car Breakthrough Award.[63]

Similar projects

Main article: Electric vehicle network

Many companies, in addition to Better Place, are installing charging station networks. In France, Électricité de France (EDF) and Toyota are installing recharging points for PHEVs on roads, streets and parking lots.[64] EDF is also partnering with Elektromotive, Ltd.[65] to install 250 new charging points over six months from October 2007 in London and elsewhere in the UK.[66] Coulomb Technologies has deployed their ChargePoint charging station network throughout the USA. In March, 2009, Tesla Motors announced a partnership to deploy battery swap stations to service their Model S platform cars.[67][68] The EV Charger Maps project managed by EV Charger News is a volunteer effort that manages a list of charging stations around the country with practical information targeted to electric vehicle owners. Recharging points also can be installed for specific uses, as in taxi stands.

Controversy

Palestinian American activist Ali Abunimah claimed in an article published in the Electronic Intifada website that Better Place "has become a flagship" for the new strategy "to soften Israel's image, especially in the wake of the UN-commissioned Goldstone report into Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip", and to "greenwash settlements". It accuses Better Place of supporting occupation by "developing transport infrastructure for Jewish-only settlements built in the occupied West Bank in violation of international law". It also accuses Better Place's officials of expressing "an explicitly anti-Muslim and anti-Arab agenda" and of having direct ties with the Israeli military establishment (Better Place Israel's CEO is former general Moshe Kaplinsky, who commanded Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank during the second Palestinian intifada and was also deputy chief of staff of Israel's army during its 2006 war on Lebanon).[69]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Governor Lingle and Better Place Announce Partnership to Offer National Blueprint for Clean Energy in Transportation". 2008-12-02.
  2. ^ a b c d Clive Thompson (2009-04-16). ""Batteries Not Included". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
  3. ^ "Israel Leads Quest for Electric Car". The Breakthrough Institute. 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
  4. ^ "French Electric Car To Debut In Danish Showrooms In a Few Months". COP15 United Nations Climate Change Conference. 2008-05-28. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
  5. ^ "San Francisco area aims to become electric car capital". 2008-11-25. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
  6. ^ "Australia plans electric vehicle network". AFP. 2008-10-23. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
  7. ^ "Better Place Enters Electric Car Network Partnership with Ontario". Green Car Congress. 2009-01-15. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
  8. ^ Aaron Turpen (2008-11-23). "Better Place to Build EV Infrastructure In California and Oregon". ZoomiLife. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
  9. ^ "21st Century Initiative in California Defines Roadmap for Sustainable Transportation, Green Job Growth and Opportunity to Reinvigorate Region's Competitive Advantage". Better Place. 2008-11-20. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
  10. ^ "Japan to work with Better Place on electric vehicles". Energy Efficiency News. 2008-12-11. Retrieved 2009-04-19.
  11. ^ "Better Place's leadership team".
  12. ^ "Ofer to invest $30 mln in electric car deal". Reuters. 2007-12-27. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
  13. ^ "Tel Aviv commits to electric car". Globes. 2008-01-17. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
  14. ^ a b Erlanger, Steven (2008-01-21). "Israel Is Set to Promote the Use of Electric Cars". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
  15. ^ "Renault-Nissan and Project Better Place prepare for first mass produced electric vehicles". 2008-01-21. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
  16. ^ a b Daniel Roth (08.18.08). "Driven: Shai Agassi's Audacious Plan to Put Electric Cars on the Road". Wired Magazine. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ Shai Agassi and the big batteries
  18. ^ PC World interview
  19. ^ TIME Heroes of 2008
  20. ^ "Better Place eRogue starts trials". CNET. 2008-11-21.
  21. ^ "Better Place at the 2009 International Motor Show". 2009-09-15. Retrieved 2009-10-19. TUESDAY, 15 SEP 2009 This video provides a preview of Renault's Fluence ZE Concept car, the first electric car with a switchable battery available on the Better Place electric vehicle network. The Fluence ZE Concept EV was unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 21 (help)
  22. ^ "Renault Unveils Finalized Designs of Fluence Z.E. and Kangoo Express Z.E.; Opens Pre-Reservations". Green Car Congress. 2010-04-15. Retrieved 2010-04-18.
  23. ^ "EERE News: Tesla Motors Unveils the Model S, an All-Electric Sedan". Apps1.eere.energy.gov. 2009-04-01. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  24. ^ Shai Agassi, Better Place, CEO, Founder; Chris Anderson, Wired Magazine, Editor-in-Chief (2008-12-28). Agassi's Electric Car Grid (Adobe Flash Video) (Videotape). Event occurs at 11m08s.
    Agassi, 11m08s: The battery costs are, gets you to, about 4 to 5 cents a mile when you take the entire life of the battery and electrons [electricity] cost you between 1 to 2 cents per mile.
    Anderson, 11m29s: Does this include the subsidy for the car?
    Agassi, 11m31s: Including nothing, base; no-taxes, no-subsidies, no-give aways. 4 to 5 cents a mile for the battery, 1 or 2 cents a mile for the electricity depending on whether you use coal or, you do what we [Better Place] do, you use wind and solar at 2 cents. So we're roughly at about 6, 7 cents a mile.
  25. ^ "Better Place". 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-19. ...a lithium-ion battery in a typical sedan can deliver a range of about 100 miles / 160 kilometers on a single charge. ... These batteries are expected to perform over 8 years and 2,000 recharges, a major improvement over earlier generations of vehicle batteries. {{cite web}}: Text "Lithium-ion batteries" ignored (help)
  26. ^ "Battery Changing Solutions". Storage Battery Systems, Inc. 2006. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  27. ^ "Catalog - Where battery handling began: Multi-Shifter". Multi-Shifter, Inc. 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  28. ^ John McCarthy (2000-10-06). "Swapping Batteries for Electric Cars". Retrieved 2009-10-05. John McCarthy, in October, 2000, described the battery swap system now being implemented by Better Place in 2009:
    2. The car is identified electronically both as to type and as to the account to be charged. The identification should be made by radio using the cellular telephone system as soon as the car is identifiable to be the next car whose batteries are to be replaced. This way, the appropriate battery pack for this car can be made up automatically from standard batteries.
    ...
    7. Then [the service module (SM)] picks up the appropriate replacement pack from another belt and puts it in the car, and signals the car to reconnect. It closes the battery compartment door or signals the car to do it. Maybe the SM should use two forklifts so that the replacement pack can be installed while the removed pack is placed on the belt.
    8. The batteries are the property of a battery company rather than of the owner of a car. The same batteries are unlikely to ever go into a particular car again....     {{cite web}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 114 (help)
  29. ^ Kate Galbraith (2009-05-13). "Better Place Unveils Battery Swap Station". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-10-05. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help); External link in |author= (help)
  30. ^ Cornell, Clayton B. (2009-05-13). "Better Place Unveils First Solar-Powered Electric Vehicle Battery Switching Station : Gas 2.0". Gas2.org. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  31. ^ Better Place Unveils First Automated Battery Switch for Japan EV Study, Press Release, May 12, 2009
  32. ^ "Charging electric vehicles (EVs)". Better Place. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  33. ^ "The global provider of electric vehicle services". Better Place. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  34. ^ a b Shai Agassi (2009-02). Shai Agassi's bold plan for electric cars. Long Beach and Palm Springs, California: TED. Event occurs at 4m10s. Retrieved 2009-10-05. See we're bound by today's technology on batteries, which is about 120 miles if you want to stay within reasonable space and weight limitations. 120 miles is a good enough range for a lot of people. But you never want to get stuck. So what we added as a second element to our network is a battery swap system. You drive. You take your depleted battery out. A full battery comes on. And you drive on. You don't do it as a human being. You do it as a machine. It looks like a car wash. You come into your car wash. And a plate comes up, holds your battery, takes it out, puts it back in. Within two minutes you're back on the road. And you can go again. If you had charge spots everywhere, and you had battery swap stations everywhere, how often would you do it? And it ends up that you'd do swapping less times than you stop at a gas station. As a matter of fact, we add it to the contract. We said that if you stop to swap your battery more than 50 times a year we start paying you money because it's an inconvenience. {{cite AV media}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  35. ^ Eric Loveday (2009-05-13). "Better Place Unveils Battery Swapping Station; Watch It In Action". All Cars Electric. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  36. ^ Roth, Daniel (2008-08-28). "Driven: Shai Agassi's Audacious Plan to Put Electric Cars on the Road". Wired.com. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  37. ^ John Murphy (2009-05-09). "A High-Tech Twist on the Filling Station; In Japan, a California Start-Up Unveils System for Quickly Swapping Batteries in Electric Cars". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2009-10-05. {{cite news}}: External link in |author= (help)
  38. ^ "Better Place signs charging station deal". Globes. 2010-07-02. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
  39. ^ "Better Place Launches Switchable-Battery Electric Taxi Project in Tokyo; Converted Crossovers with A123 Systems Packs". Green Car Congress. 2010-04-26. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
  40. ^ "Better Place launches electric-car test with Tokyo taxi firm". The Wall Street Journal. 2010-04-26. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
  41. ^ http://blog.betterplace.com/2010/04/countdown-to-the-opening-of-the-world%E2%80%99s-first-switchable-battery-electric-taxi-operation/
  42. ^ "Better Place". Israel Corporation. 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
  43. ^ a b Better Place wins $350 m. investment, (January 26, 2010), in Israel 21c Innovation News Service, Retrieved 2010–01–26
  44. ^ "Betterplace.com". Better PLC LLC. 2008-07-28. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  45. ^ "Betterplace.com". Better Place Announcement. 2008-10-23. Retrieved 2008-10-23.
  46. ^ More millions invested in Better Place, (January 13, 2010), in Israel 21c Innovation News Service, Retrieved 2010–01–26
  47. ^ "Project Better Place presents prototype". Cleantech Investing in Israel. 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
  48. ^ "Project Better Place in talks with Mercedes, Hawaii, and San Francisco". Cleantech Investing in Israel. 2008-06-21. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
  49. ^ "GOVERNOR LINGLE AND BETTER PLACE ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP TO OFFER NATIONAL BLUEPRINT FOR CLEAN ENERGY IN TRANSPORTATION".
  50. ^ LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.[dead link]
  51. ^ Shai Agassi, David Pogue, Gavin Newsom (2009-03-19). Making The World A 'Better Place' (YouTube). San Francisco, CA: CBS News Sunday Morning; CBS Interactive, Inc. Event occurs at 3:45. Shai Agassi: "We [Better Place] don't let you [the customer] buy a battery; we [Better Place] buy the battery.
  52. ^ Shai Agassi, Amanda Drury, Martin Soong (2009-04-23). A Better Place for the Auto Industry (Flash video). CNBC Squawk Box. Event occurs at 2m40s. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
    2m40s: CNBC's Amanda Drury: "Are you going to have a monopoly on this infrastructure? How are you going to make sure there is enough competition in the system to be able to maintain, you know, good pricing, stable pricing for the consumer?"
    2m58s: Shai Agassi: ... in every country we come in, we've asked [the government] to force everybody, including ourselves [Better Place], to use international standards. And we've guaranteed, and asked for the same thing, that there will be open access for people to charge on our network even if they're not our subscribers. Sort of free roaming across networks so that there is an incentive for a second and third and fourth maker of ... sort of At&T and Vodafone and Orange ... to actually go ahead and build networks that are compatible and based on standards.     {{cite AV media}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 104 (help)
  53. ^ Better Place (2009-07-16). "Demo charge plug". Retrieved 2009-10-12. {{cite web}}: External link in |author= (help)
  54. ^ Better Place (2009-09-23). "Better Place charge spot gallery". Retrieved 2009-10-12. {{cite web}}: External link in |author= (help)
  55. ^ Xavier Navarro (2009-05-20). "The European standard charging plug for cars is selected after Mennekes design". Autoblog Green. Retrieved 2009-10-12. {{cite web}}: External link in |author= (help)
  56. ^ Martin LaMonica (2009-04-24). "Q&A: Better Place's electric car plans, brilliant or nuts?". CNet Australia. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
  57. ^ Chuck Squatriglia (2008-04-14). "Deutsche Bank Loves Shai Agassi's Plan to Bring Us EVs". Wired Magazine. Retrieved 2009-10-20. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help); External link in |author= (help)
  58. ^ "Deutsche Bank Report 'Electric Cars: Plugged In'" (PDF). Deutsche Bank. 2008-06-09. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  59. ^ Shai Agassi (2008-06-28). "Testimony by Shai Agassi Founder & Chief Executive Officer Project Better Place" (PDF). United States House of Representatives Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming Hearing on “$4 Gasoline and Fuel Economy: Auto Industry At a Crossroads”. Retrieved 2009-10-08. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  60. ^ "Electric dream car won me: Evan Thornley | The Australian". Theaustralian.news.com.au. 2009-01-21. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  61. ^ "How Better Place plans to revive the electric car". Cnet.com.au. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  62. ^ http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7452c1e8-50cb-11df-bc86-00144feab49a.html
  63. ^ http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2010/04/green-car-breakthrough-awards-go-to-ev-charger-pioneers-coulomb-better-place.html
  64. ^ "EDF et Toyota annoncent un partenariat technologique en Europe relatif aux véhicules hybrides rechargeables". Électricité de France. 2007-09-05. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
  65. ^ ""Elektromotive: The ultimate zero-emission transport system"". Elektromotive, Ltd. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
  66. ^ Reynolds, L. (2007-10-11). ""UK to install 250 new public charging stations by next spring"". The Battery Vehicle Society. Retrieved 2006-10-26.
  67. ^ Ramsey, Jonathon (2009-03-26). "Tesla Model S: $50,000 EV sedan seats seven, 300-mile range, 0-60 in 5.5s". autobloggreen. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  68. ^ Diarmuid OConnell, Vice President of Business Development, Tesla Motors (2009-09-28). "Clearing the Air on our DOE Loan" (Press release). Retrieved 2009-10-12. {{cite press release}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  69. ^ Abunimah, Ali (2010-05-06). "Quartet ex-envoy's investment helps Israel greenwash settlements".
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