I chose this article because I think this is a very important aspect determining the success of electric cars. We can't really have widespread use of electric cars without fixing a "chicken-egg" situation. Realistically, for people to buy electric cars, we need charging stations. In order for companies to start building charging stations there needs to be electric cars. It is about time that someone took on the charging station aspect of this dilemma.
I thought it was interesting that the battery switching might be similar to an automatic car-wash. This would also be a quick and efficient method of fueling for consumers. Just like all cars have standardized gas spouts, this would require all electric cars to have a universal way of removing and replacing batteries. One potential problem is that all electric car companies would need to agree on standardized batteries to allow for universal replacement. Another potential problem is that these batteries are fairly heavy, weighing at least several hundred pounds.
I think it is interesting that Mr. Agassi is first testing his idea in Israel, Denmark and San Fransisco. I makes sense to start in a fairly urban area where people and electric cars might be relatively concentrated. It also makes sense to start in a relatively localized area to get the bugs out of the system. The success of his plan depends on car companies not only choosing one battery type, but it also has to be accessable in the same way. To do this, all of the car companies would have to get together and agree on these standards and then they would have to make all of their cars, trucks and SUVs built to fit this standard.
While these problems need to be worked out, it is great that there is someone trying to build charging facilities because the success of electric cars depends on them.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Mapping a Global Plan for Car-Charging Stations (9)
I found this article at http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/09/mapping-a-global-plan-for-car-charging-stations/?scp=6&sq=electric%20car&st=cse.
This article is about Shai Agassi and his plan to make service stations to recharge electric cars. Mr. Agassi is a former software executive who is using his Silicon Valley experience. It seems a good time to pursue his vision of building networks of battery-exchange stations in North America, Europe, Japan and Australia to increase the driving range of electric cars.
“It’s about what are you going to do to make the world a better place by 2020?” he added. He is calling his company Better Place.
Mr. Agassi is trying to persuade more consumers to buy all-electric cars, rather than gas-electric hybrids like a Prius that still create tailpipe emissions. He wants to build a network of stations that can replace drained batteries with charged ones. He believes drivers will be less afraid to travel far from home, if his charging stations are built.
“The battery is a consumable part of the car, just like gasoline,” Mr. Agassi told The Times. “Cars in the 1950s only went about 100 miles on a tank of gas, and that problem was solved by installing an infrastructure of gas stations.”
But Mr. Agassi expects most batteries to become standard in size and located in the same general area under cars. His firm is also working with battery makers on adapting the process for different models.
Mr. Agassi estimates that a single battery-switching station will cost about $500,000 to build. A vehicle parks on a conveyor similar to the track in a car wash, and workers replace its depleted battery with a fully charged one.
The batteries themselves could be owned by Better Place, with consumers simply buying electric charges as they would cellphone minutes. Mr. Agassi estimates that the cost in kilowatt hours to drive 100 miles in an electric car is less than half the current price of gas.
“I am passionate about the fact that we can get to the point where we use zero oil for most of our cars,” he told The Times. “Americans need one electric car per household. That’s 100 million cars right there. And it can be done.”
This article is about Shai Agassi and his plan to make service stations to recharge electric cars. Mr. Agassi is a former software executive who is using his Silicon Valley experience. It seems a good time to pursue his vision of building networks of battery-exchange stations in North America, Europe, Japan and Australia to increase the driving range of electric cars.
“It’s about what are you going to do to make the world a better place by 2020?” he added. He is calling his company Better Place.
Mr. Agassi is trying to persuade more consumers to buy all-electric cars, rather than gas-electric hybrids like a Prius that still create tailpipe emissions. He wants to build a network of stations that can replace drained batteries with charged ones. He believes drivers will be less afraid to travel far from home, if his charging stations are built.
“The battery is a consumable part of the car, just like gasoline,” Mr. Agassi told The Times. “Cars in the 1950s only went about 100 miles on a tank of gas, and that problem was solved by installing an infrastructure of gas stations.”
But Mr. Agassi expects most batteries to become standard in size and located in the same general area under cars. His firm is also working with battery makers on adapting the process for different models.
Mr. Agassi estimates that a single battery-switching station will cost about $500,000 to build. A vehicle parks on a conveyor similar to the track in a car wash, and workers replace its depleted battery with a fully charged one.
The batteries themselves could be owned by Better Place, with consumers simply buying electric charges as they would cellphone minutes. Mr. Agassi estimates that the cost in kilowatt hours to drive 100 miles in an electric car is less than half the current price of gas.
“I am passionate about the fact that we can get to the point where we use zero oil for most of our cars,” he told The Times. “Americans need one electric car per household. That’s 100 million cars right there. And it can be done.”
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