Zero - Zero

Shai Agassi, a visionary and the founder of Better Place, the world’s leading electric vehicle services provider, designs a solution to run an entire country without oil, before oil runs out.

He has done so through 4 easy sets –

Element I

Government Policies – Israel’s government set goals to promote zero oil cars. This was done by levying a tax differential of 60 %, which was, 72% tax on gasoline cars and 10% tax on zero emission cars applicable till 2019. Eventually when people buy the zero emission cars, they raise the tax for both sorts of vehicles, and once they achieve a tax revenue of 50% off these cars they are set.

Element II

Automobile Industry Support – Setting up Better Place or electric car charging stations across Europe in alliance with Renault-Nissan. A distinct feature would be replaceable batteries, whereby batteries could be exchanged” if you would want to go beyond the distance of a single battery”.

Thus looking at long distance travel, a way to sustain the electric cars would be by exchanging the depleted battery for a new fully charged battery, at “swap stations”. Eventually leading to mass production of such cars be 2011.

Element III

Building a Charging Infrastructure – This is done by having electric parking lots or spots, be it home, office or downtown. Thus you leave your car at the parking place once you are back to the spot the car is fully charged.

As this is an initiative along side Renault-Nissan there has been an innovative pricing model developed, just like those seen by the mobile service providers!

This is the zero – zero model, which is “zero emission, zero dollars to drive.”



Element IV

Seed Capital – Shai Agassi has raised $200 million through venture capitalists across Israel, Denmark and the USA, in order to create a charging infrastructure.

Thus with cars, policies, network and money bought together Mr. Agassi’s dream has taken shape.

Catching from an interview published in The New York Times, Mr. Shai Agassi says “I am passionate about the fact that we can get to the point where we use zero oil for most of our cars.”

The best part, “not a single bit of new science required, no research, nothing.”

Information gathered from www.betterplace.com, http://shaiagassi.typepad.com/ and The New York Times.