Better Place, a company that aims to build a worldwide electric car charging infrastructure, has announced an agreement with the state of California to build a $1 billion network in the Bay Area. Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk says his company is looking at rapid charge technology, and the possibility of swappable batteries.
Better Place is in the midst of setting up a charging network in Israel, in partnership with Renault- Nissan . That deal focuses on establishing “exchange stations” where drivers will be able to exchange their depleted battery for a full charged one — similar to the process of picking up a filled propane tank for your barbeque.
But the strategy in the Bay Area is different. Because not all electric cars on the drawing board have removable batteries — and there is no standardized design — the California strategy will focus on plug-in charging in addition to battery exchange.
The private/public partnership will result in a $1 billion investment, leading to upwards of $2.5 billion in jobs building this new infrastructure, the company says. So far, it’s unclear what portion of the strategy is dedicated to charging, and what portion is focused on battery exchange.
The Bay Area proposal focuses on San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland, but Better Place has ambitions for eventually expanding to include Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego, and the major highways that link them together.
Incidentally, about two weeks ago Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk recently sat down with The Deal to discuss where the electric car industry is headed. He, too, sees a future that could focus on either charging stations or swappable batteries.
“We have some ideas to address the range issue with a battery pack you can swap out,” he said. Obviously, this couldn’t be done by hand since the batteries involved weight hundreds of pounds. Rather, it would be done with the help of some basic machinery, like hydraulic lifts. “It would be done faster than you can fill a car with gasoline,” said Musk.
That would require a standardized battery design — something that might only come about if the U.S. government shows leadership on the issue.
“There’s also a fast-charge capability so that a battery could be recharged in 45 minutes instead of three and a half hours,” explains Musk. He used the example of a 400 mile trip. After depleting an electric car’s 300 mile range, the driver could stop for a 15 minute meal break, and charge for an additional 100 miles in that timeframe.
For the most part, it appears the Better Place plan is in line with Musk’s thinking, and he happens to be in charge of the most promising American car company at this point in time. Whether the rest of the auto industry and the U.S. government will get on board remains to be seen.
“In essence, we’re creating a blueprint for economic and environmental recovery for the auto industry, the U.S., and any country wrestling with financial and climate crisis,” Better Place said in a statement.
