Will Israel's Electric Cars Change the World?

[oberliner]

Shai Agassi, the founder of Better Place, the most sophisticated electric-car enterprise in the world, projects the ebullient confidence of a man facing a giant wave of money. "Within less than this decade the No. 1–selling car in the world will be the electric car," he says. "It's the biggest financial opportunity the world has ever seen. We're seeing a $10 trillion shift in an industry in less than a decade. It's the Internet, and add another zero."

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2066975,00.html#ixzz1L1xITQKP

[shira]

1. Obviously a Zionist plot to bankrupt and starve millions in oil dependent Arab nations. n/t

[GreenStormCloud]

3. So the oil us used to general electricty instead of for gasoline.

What's the difference?

[Blues Heron]

6. less CO2 per mile because of the economy of scale

[sabbat hunter]

7. plus with a bit of luck

electricity can come from any number of clean/green sources.

[leveymg]

2. Just like the Palestinian rocketry program will.

Face it - neither country is really all that important.

[King_David]

8. Maybe not,try tell that to the UN

They seem to waste an inordinate amount of energy into succh an unimportant country.

[idontwantaname]

4. why is this in I/P?

better suited in another forum perhaps?

[oberliner]

5. The I stands for Israel

Pretty much anything to with all things Israeli and Palestinian end up in this thread.

Even threads that tangentially touch on them seem to get moved here.

[idontwantaname]

9. make no mistake, i understood that onesided logic

however what percentage of this of this article applies to I/P, and what percentage applies to environment/energy?

[oberliner]

11. Very good point

I'll cross-post it in the environment/energy forum.

[idontwantaname]

12. very good, thank you. n/t.

[oberliner]

13. Not surprisingly, the first response to the thread over there has been a political one

Which is why I thought it best to post it here in the first place.

[idontwantaname]

14. how do you figure?

im interested in hearing how: a comment about the 3B or whatever aid from the US followed by a comment about R&D being a smart move equals a political response which has to do with I/P issues?

[oberliner]

15. Well it has nothing really to do with the environment or energy-related impact of the electric car

It doesn't really address anything in the article at all.

The article has nothing to do with US aid - you yourself noted that it was an environmental/energy-related piece.

The comment made was one that could have been written as a response to just the headline, without even looking at the article itself.

[idontwantaname]

16. listen oberliner,

ive put in a request to have this thread locked. it clearly has nothing to do with I/P and belongs in the energy/environment forum, as the article clearly is about electric cars in israel and has nothing to do with social-political politics of the middle east, or the israeli-palestinian dynamic.

[oberliner]

17. Well, alrighty then

I'm sorry you feel that this thread needs to be locked.

Generally speaking, threads that are even tangentially related to anything Israeli or Palestinian end up getting moved here (or are posted here initially).

I'm not sure I see what the big deal is - but I respect your right to try to get this thread locked if you so choose.

[azurnoir]

18. You mean like threads about the Holocaust? or do they only relate when some here say so? n/t

[oberliner]

19. What do threads about the Holocaust have to do with Israel?

I don't see the connection.

[azurnoir]

20. Of course you don't but the folks at Yad Vashem might differ

or would you opine that it's different.........but some here would differ, the aftermath of the Holocaust led to the formation of Israel at the time it was formed in 1948, is sighted as proof as to why Jews deserve their own state and why Israel must be the Jewish state

[oberliner]

21. Interesting to see which threads generate which discussions

Not a lot of talk about the impact the OP will have on Israel and the world.

[azurnoir]

22. actually I did comment on the threads subject below n/t

[King_David]

23. Just kicking this thread up

Very interesting article about Israeli innovation and technology,

I can recommend the book " Israel start up Nation"

It's a good read.

[King_David]

25. Israel Electric Car Lead

By Ben Rooney
The electric car is a technology whose time may just be breaking upon us now. With oil prices where they are, and the ecological lobby pushing for ever tighter environmental controls, it is hard to see how electric vehicles are not going to be part of future transport systems.

Time Magazine reports on an Israeli start up that is hoping to make that world a little easier and a little closer. Better Place, which the magazine describes as “the most sophisticated electric-car enterprise in the world”, is making the business of owning an electric car a whole lot simpler.

It makes an entire infrastructure intended to free automobiles from the stubborn limits of battery life. When the enterprise launches in Israel later this year, drivers should be able to travel anywhere in the country in cars with a battery range of 100 miles (160 km). If they set off from Tel Aviv to the Red Sea, a journey of 200 miles (320 km), they will be able to pull into a Better Place station along the highway and exchange their low battery for a fully charged one…

Everything you need to know — the locations of switch stations and charging posts, the number of motorists already there, your own distance from each — is visible on a dashboard GPS screen. Employees have been testing the system for weeks, seeing, for instance, how much juice it takes to drive from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem with a car full of fat people, a carload of skinny people or just a car. By July, Better Place expects to begin taking individual orders for the Turkish-made Renault Fluence Z.E. (for Zero Emission), a four-door sedan that looks like any other car. Ordinary Israelis could be driving them as early as November.

The company is launching in both Israel and Denmark, two small countries with high prices for fuel at the pumps. The company is also in talks with the Chinese, who, being Chinese, are not doing things by half measures. Apparently Beijing’s next five-year plan foresees at least 170 million new electric vehicles— as many electric cars as there are in Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Britain combined.

http://blogs.wsj.com/tech-europe/2011/04/27/israel-electric-car-lead/?mod=google_news_blog

[King_David]

29. Better Place opens first electric vehicle demonstration center

In early February 2010, Better Place held the grand opening of the company’s first electric vehicle (EV) demonstration center in Israel.

The company marked the occasion by announcing the signing of 92 corporate fleet owners to date as well as a partnership with Dor Alon, one of Israel’s leading gas station operators, for the deployment of battery switch stations at Dor Alon’s facilities. Leading companies including Computer Associates and Motorola joined the ranks of 92 Better Place Vision Partners that have agreed to convert a portion of over 45,000 internal combustion engine cars to electric vehicles from Renault when commercially available in 2011.

The opening of the Better Place Center represents an important step for the company as it prepares for commercial launch in Israel and Denmark next year. The Center is open to the public to come and familiarize themselves with all aspects of the Better Place solution: a fully electric, battery-powered car; a comprehensive infrastructure that includes charge spots and a battery switch station; and a comprehensive suite of in-car services designed to provide drivers with the best possible EV driving experience.

“Today’s announcement marks another step toward our commercial launch next year in Israel,” said Moshe Kaplinsky, CEO, Better Place Israel. “Israel welcomes the world to come and experience the thrill of clean, electric vehicles.”

http://www.betterplace.com/global-progress-israel

[azurnoir]

10. Israel will have lots of competition in the field

Japan's Nissan Leaf is ready for market

http://www.nissanusa.com/leaf-electric-car/index?dcp=ppn.63023882.&dcc=0.240189300#/leaf-electric-car/index

[oberliner]

24. No similarity whatsover

Not even in the same ballpark.

Did you read the article?

[azurnoir]

26. of course I read the article but you are entitled to your opinion

IMO the 2 are quite similar

[King_David]

27. Nissan is involved in Israeli adventure tho:

Better Place will begin selling electric cars in Israel this summer. Better Place plans to sell electric cars developed by the Renault-Nissan Alliance, which typically have a range of around 100 miles. Drivers would be promised four battery swapping stations along any route the length of that range, to enable ease-of-use of the cars.



http://www.port2port.com/Index.asp?CategoryID=49&ArticleID=2836

[oberliner]

28. From 2008: Renault/Nissan to turn Israel into electric car haven

Car makers, with the help of $1 billion investment from Project Better Place, will wire Israel with 500,000 charging points and 150 battery-swap stations where motorists can exchange their depleted batteries for recharged ones within about five minutes

The land of milk and honey would soon become the land of the electrical car. French car maker Renault and its Japanese partner Nissan the other day outlined an ambitious electric vehicle project backed by Israel’s government which hinges on quick battery exchanges at a network of filling station-type establishments. The FT’s John Reed and Fiona Harvey report that under the plan, Silicon Valley start-up Project Better Place will wire Israel with 500,000 charging points and 150 battery-swap stations where motorists can exchange their depleted batteries for recharged ones within about five minutes. Tests of the grid will begin this year, and Renault/Nissan will sell a new electric car from 2011.

http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/renaultnissan-turn-israel-electric-car-haven