Posts Tagged by Shai Agassi
Electric Vehicle Charging Solutions – Where Does "Better Place" Fit?
| December 13, 2010 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
I notice that Shai Agassi of Project Better Place was interviewed on NPR again this morning. Holy cow, that guy has wonderful PR; it’s hard to turn around without running into him presenting his idea (ubiquitous electric vehicle battery swapping stations).
But does it seem practical for a landmass the size of the US? Agassi’s talking point is the “ABCs” of EVs: Automobiles, Batteries, and Charging, in which he reminds us that all the money we’ve invested in the first two will not win the day if we fail to deal properly with the third. Of course this is true – and battery swapping is a wonderful solution for certain parts of the world, e.g., countries like Israel (its first customer). Israel is extremely dense, and surrounded by oil-rich enemies.
I’m no fan of big oil myself, but I just can’t see battery swapping stations all over a landmass like the continental US — 3.5 million square miles, 600 times the size of Israel. And I certainly don’t buy the idea that the entirety of the charging infrastructure has to be in place before consumers will accept EVs.
Far more credible, in my opinion, is the following scenario: Read More
Related posts:
Electric Vehicles and Better Place
| August 15, 2009 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
David Holden writes:
I am no adherent of Shai Agassi’s dubious scheme, but it does show the willingness of power companies to support EV. development.
As long as think has come up, here are my thoughts on Better Place.
1) I know the world is clamoring for electric vehicles, and that’s a good thing. But rushing headlong at Better Place seems very strange to me. At a minimum, it’s monopolistic. The state governments, e.g., California, are handing this guy a monopolistic position that is sure to be abused. By contrast, the cell phone companies (who are still making money hand over fist) must compete with one another. I suppose you have to give Agassi credit that he is able to talk his way into this position, but I find it outrageous.
2) Having said this, I really don’t think it’s the right solution for the United States anyway. I know I can be accused of optimism, but I see the entire “chicken-and-egg” or “Catch 22″ of EV production, battery supply, battery energy density, battery cost, charging infrastructure, and consumer acceptance/demand unravelling roughly in sync with one another over the coming decades. Will there be “fits and starts?” Of course.
