Bay Area to get $1B electric car network; Tesla talks rapid-charge, swappable batteries
11/21/2008, 3:09 PM
By Nick Aziz
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.
11/21, 3:14 PM
posted by:
mayer_ray_nagin
I say get Geordi and Scotty on the engineering team.
Then we can set a phaser to overload and bypass the matter/antimatter integrator thru the trionic initiator in the warp induction coils thereby creating a tachyon pulse alleviating the need to have the quantum flux penetrate the subspace field pulse and intensifying the redundant melacors ramistat 14 quilliquad interface modules.
Problem solved! Plus them phasers are a helluva lot lighter than batteries!
11/21, 3:20 PM
posted by:
Borat
Bay Area rightfully deserves this! They were just denied the right to form a family (marriage); at least gay and lesbian community can enjoy their electrical appliances on the road!
11/21, 3:23 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
… engage!
11/21, 3:40 PM
posted by:
beatusmongous
15 minute meal break? Unless they were stopping at a fast food joint, they’d be lucky to be served in 20 minutes. I see no problem with stopping for an hour to eat, rest, poop, and do a little shopping. Why are we always in such a hurry? Slow down, take some time and enjoy the scenery a bit while your car recharges.
11/21, 3:43 PM
posted by:
howsmydriving
Awesome news.
11/21, 4:03 PM
posted by:
A4
hydraulic lifts? this could get messy…
11/21, 4:07 PM
posted by:
mayer_ray_nagin
Enjoy your hour rest, Beatus. When I am on the road, no stop lasts longer than 6 or 7 minutes. Tank up, piss, go. I’ll drive 2,000 miles virtually nonstop this way. Assuming I make 5 gas stops in that, your way will take 4.5 hours more road time than mine in that, and I dont find gas stations that interesting that I want to buy that many pieces of overpriced junk there.
11/21, 4:09 PM
posted by:
mayer_ray_nagin
I that 2000 miles, I will also not sleep, by the way. The destination is my goal, not the scenic Shell station and the wonderful outlet malls along the way. Get a grip.
11/21, 4:24 PM
posted by:
beatusmongous
Mayer, I have a wife and two little kids. If I were alone, the 2,000 mile thing wouldn’t be a problem. But with my wife and kids, well, let’s just say the radio can’t even drown out the noise. Trust me. Stopping for a little 1 hour break every few hundred miles is worth it.
Also, 4.5 hours is nothing. Heck, I’ll stay overnight. Why not? I’ll get there, I’m just not in a hurry to get there like you are. I plan my trips, not just my destination. What’s the point of traveling 2,000 miles if you can’t enjoy it? Life is a journey, not a destination.
And I need to get a grip?
11/21, 4:32 PM
posted by:
atoms
i’m all with mayer_ray_nagin only if anti-matter would dip below $2 a gallon
11/21, 5:50 PM
posted by:
mayer_ray_nagin
Anti-matter is running about 1.72 around me these days (Shell)
11/21, 6:02 PM
posted by:
yarddog82abn
“The state of California to build a $1 billion network in the Bay Area.”
WHAT THE FOCK !!!!!!!!!!
WE IN CALIFORNIA ARE HEADED IN TO THE BIGGEST SCHOOL FINANCIAL CRISIS EVER!!!
OUR SCHOOL HAVE NO MONEY, AND THE “GOVER-NATOR” KEEPS CUTTING MONEY FOR THEM…
SO YOU ARE TELLING ME THAT A STUPID PLUG IN CAR IS MORE IMPORTANT THEN HAVING A EDUCATED SOCIETY??? $1 BILLION DOLLARS!!! IT DON”T MATTER IF THE STATE PUT UP LESS THE 10% FOR PROGRAM, THE ANSWER IS NO! STUPID GOVER-NATOR!
11/21, 7:01 PM
posted by:
mayer_ray_nagin
Yarddog, your stupid state house and state senate is Scrotumento are more to blame than Ahhhnold.
Stoooooopid californifreaks!
11/21, 7:16 PM
posted by:
andy
lol goes below $2/gallon… if i did this right you are living in heaven is you are at 1.75-2.00/ gallon compared to me
im at .78/liter with exchange rate thats around .61cents/liter , and there are 3.75 liters per gallon
so .61X3.75= $2.29/ gallon
people of the US, dont bitch about gas prices
, Canada has always had it worse than you, back when gas was $4/gallon for you it was a hell of a lot more for us… and we have the worlds second largest deposit of oil… shows where being nice gets you
11/22, 12:27 AM
posted by:
jonmiles
yarddog- take a breath dude, just because it says 1 billion dollar project doesn’t mean that it’s all the taxpayers burden. Read the fine print before you freak out like a lunatic
11/22, 4:38 PM
posted by:
Mutant@DCX
It’s refuge for the homosexuals.
As if airport washrooms and truck stops were’nt enough, now they’ll have a place to plug in.