Silicon Valley's $200 million electric car startup

Former SAP (SAP) top exec Shai Agassi unveiled his new venture last night in the pixels of the online editions of the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times: A startup backed by $200 million that will lease removable batteries for electric cars. The company will also build a network of battery-charging stations and battery replacement centers. It appears that Agassi's company, called Project Better Place, won't spend its considerable cash hoard on developing new battery technology or electric cars themselves. Instead, according to the articles' somewhat differing takes, Agassi seeks to extend the range of existing electric car batteries by making it easy to charge up or swap power packs on the road. The company would make money by renting batteries to car owners and charging them to charge up.

"The business model for the electric cars will be similar to that used by mobile phone operators," the company says on its site. "In the same way that wireless operators deploy a network of cell towers to provide an area of mobile phone coverage, Project Better Place will establish a network of charging spots and battery exchange stations to provide ubiquitous access to electricity to power electric vehicles.  The company will partner with car makers and source batteries so that consumers who subscribe to the network can get subsidized vehicles which are cheaper to buy and operate than today’s fuel-based cars. Consumers will still own their cars and will have multiple car models to choose from."

Among the big names backing Agassi are Israeli holding company Israel Corp, Morgan Stanley (MS), Tesla investor VantagePoint Venture Partners, former World Bank chief James Wolfensohn and Edgar Bronfman, Sr.

Battery leasing is an idea that's gaining currency among electric car companies. Batteries typically account for half the cost of an electric vehicle, requiring that buyers essentially prepay upfront for years of fuel cost. Norwegian EV maker Think, for instance, plans to sell its City urban runabout and charge a monthly "mobility" fee that will include the battery lease as well as other features like insurance. General Motors (GM) is exploring a similar idea for its Volt electric hybrid under development. Utilities like PG&E (PCG), meanwhile, have expressed interest in buying tens of thousands of used EV batteries to store renewable energy produced by solar arrays and wind farms for use when power demand peaks. Such a secondary market for electric car batteries potentially makes leasing schemes viable.

Agassi will face competition from Capricorn Investment Group, a Palo Alto private equity firm that also intends to launch a battery-leasing company to jump-start the EV market. Capricorn has invested in both Think and Tesla Motors, the Silicon Valley startup that is building the Roadster supercar.

The risk Agassi faces is that companies like Tesla, which itself has raised more than $100 million, will develop long-range electric car batteries that make a network of charging stations and battery replacement stations superfluous. Tesla, for example, says its latest tests show the Roadster will go 245 miles between charges in combined city and highway driving. Still, it'll be some time before an electric car goes 400 miles on a charge and Agassi has $200 million to play with. A few months ago, Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard spoke to Green Wombat about the potential for EV battery leasing. "I would love to see that work," he said. "It may work for us down the road. I think it’s a great idea."

Comments

[Gabe]

Why it's taken someone so long to figure this out is beyond me. The Sony Walkman, iPod, laptop makers have other people make and replace batteries, and so should the car companies. The idea of a replacable batter that can be recharged elsewhere while I drive away with a fully charged battery is an elegant solution. It also allows the car to improve with battery technology rather than have to replace the car when a better battery system comes along.

The gas stations can do the re-charge, it's a pretty easy infrastructure to leverage since they are already located in all the right places.

[GK]

Please note this speculative future timeline for automobiles.

http://futurist.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/05/a_future_timeli.html

[lylel]

How is the 500 pound battery pack going to be easily replaced in 5 minutes? Since I'm not getting the same battery pack, the charged replacement battery capacity may be lower since it may be an older battery having many more charge/discharge cycles than the original battery that came with the car? I don't want to give up my battery that performs at 95% to put in an old 81% capacity battery.
Sure hope the connections are goof proof conductivity wise, nothing like high resistance or connections that open up 50 miles down the road.
Where would they have access to the batteries. GM Volt will have there's down the middle of the car. Wouldn't that pretty much mean lifting the car to access the batteries would be necessary? Hmm... hope there are no mistakes that damage the underbody of the car since that operation will occur many many times. Does it mean all batteries must be accessible at the same location? And what about maintaining an inventory of all the different types of battery packs based on different specifications from the different car makers?

I'll stick with a design that give me 40-75 miles electric coverage with fall back on internal combustion engine and keep the batteries that came with and were installed, handled and tested at the factory, thank-you.

[Gennady]

Very elegant soltuion and again Israeli push it forward

[S.H.]

When will there be a waiting list?! This is just what we need! Don' forget to consider the battery disposal as a part of the whole design plan.

[EL]

Picture this solution being rolled out in the taxi industry. It sounds like Blue Diamond--similar to taking your empty BBQ LP tank into the gas station or hardware store down the street for a trade. Working out battery design standards between different auto manufacturers would be a huge issue.

[Zen]

I think the future is with Honda's "filling station" Uses sun's rays on photoelectric panels to supply the electrical energy, transforms common water to hydrogen, encapsules the hydrogen in a pressurized tank. You come home from work, plug in the fuel supply (filling the gas tank) and all excess hydrogen can me used to heat the home, hot water tank, etc.
Put forward the technology and the benefits to society, and this will help us move away from current (appx. $92 crude oil)
The Australlian's are actively pursuing this near self sustaining energy source. USA needs to take a lead in this technology.

[edgar]

This approach may work well for some, but not for me. This smacks of the cars companies trying to get an ongoing piece of my money. They don't want us charging cars with wind or pv, because it messes up their corporate fascist plans to dominate the economy.

[BBH]

I like the idea of charging my car with my rooftop solar panels, instead of paying some company to charge it with electricty that probably came from burning coal.

[Jack Marchand]

nov.2,2007
To all interested parties.

Future Global Systems

Gentlemen;
---These web pages below relate to new global concepts and many other ideas also in other web pages where all countries could also participate in these Global Systems.
If possible could you forward this also to all the Departments of Transportation and Energy.

For more details --- See the following:

more details --- See the following

First
---All the D.O.T.s of all countries must meet at the U.N. Energy Department in New York City and agree on one size and voltage battery and tell all auto makers to conform their vehicles to adapt to them at any battery swap station. Which once the standard is agreed on I could design those stations. See my back ground and work experience in item below.---

---http://globalsys.topcities.com/electriCar.html---
Electric autos with "Quick-Change" battery stations.

---http://globalsys.topcities.com/dualmodemaglev.html---
Global network for very high speed travel in your own vehicle

---http://globalsys.topcities.com/00glblslrnrgsys.html---A Global Solar Energy System Corp. owned by all Countries

---http://globalsys.topcities.com/00index1a.html---
My past experience in design, development, etc. for various corporations

--- http://globalsys.topcities.com/ ---
Jack Marchand's web Page (index)

I hope this can help bring prosperity to all countries.
A New World is coming for all of us to enjoy if we work and share together.It is important for people
of all countries to participate in these new ventures.
Hopefully they can do these things while keeping the "money lenders" out and instead use their own labor, resources, money, and their government support.

Sincerely, Jack Marchand

[Jack Marchand]

nov.3,2007
To all interested parties.

Future Global Systems

In reference of the 'comment' posted above yesterday, (Nov.2,2007) an error was made in the addresses of the web pages. Please omit the(---) before and after the web page address in order to access them. You can highlight them and enter them in your web server address as an alternative. Sorry for the mistake...sincerely
Jack Marchand
Gentlemen;

[Jack Marchand]

If, due to interference recently preventing access to my web pages relevent to transport and energy, you cannot enter them -- visit the previous ones beginning with this one.--
http://www.angelfire.com/nj4/streetrag/index3.html More to come --With standard (size and voltage) swap batteries, the contents are irrelevent. The electric cars will be the next thing.

[Jack Marchand]

If, due to interference recently preventing access to my web pages relevent to transport and energy, you cannot enter them -- visit the previous ones beginning with this one.--
http://www.angelfire.com/nj4/streetrag/index3.html More to come --With standard (size and voltage) swap batteries, the contents are irrelevent. The electric cars will be the next thing.

[Jerome Vernon]

The Concept: EV-Power Stations - Conveniently located consumer facilities where standard EV power modules (battery) are automatically swapped via mechanical conveyer system. The optically guided mechanical conveyer system would remove discharged, and inserts fully charged power modules which are accessible form the underside of the EV. Automated EV identity would provide billing information so consumers would remain within the EV while refueling takes place. The industry would need to agree on the dimensional aspects where the guts would be updated as new innovations become available. EV power modules are recharged at EV-Power Stations during off-peak hours according to local utility arrangements. The EV-Power Station would be the actual owners of the batteries which are tracked via silicon serial numbers. This concept depicts an illustration where the car owner never buys the actual battery – only the power it contains.

The Pitch: How about a pop-in battery which can be removed and in installed in about 30 seconds or less at your nearby EV-Power Station? When you buy a new EV, it wouldn’t come with a battery. Your car dealer would contract with a local EV-Power Station (Shell-EV, Chevron-EV, 7-Eleven-EV, etc…) to get the first on inserted into the vehicle and, from then-on; the owner would swap (30 seconds or less) when the power runs low.

[Warren Linnerooth]

Swapping removable battery packs for fully charged battery packs at a re-charging station, is the way to go!
A simple machine could remove the old battery and insert the recharged battery very quickly, in less time than it takes to fill up a gas tank and without requiring physical lifting on the part of the customer.
Much like changing propane tanks, the strategy would include a "guaranteed swap", so no matter how old the last battery you swapped out into your car, you would always be able to swap in a fully charged battery. This would eliminate the problem of consumers not wanting to swap out a newer uncharged battery for an older charged battery. You pay for the first battery, and then you always have a guarantee to swap.
Aside from the cost of the electricity to charged the swapped battery, would also include a small charge that would cover wear and tear on the fleet of batteries. It costs very little to recharge a battery and the average cost of wear and tear on a battery per charge is also very little, so you would get very inexpensive and zero emission fuel (electricity) without having to wait around while your battery recharges.

[Rob Henry]

Finally some real movement forward. We need to electrify transportation as soon as possible. A standard battery size / voltage / interface is an important step toward independence from oil.

[Barry Bernsten]

BG Automotive Group has a car that will travel 80-100 miles per charge for $15,995.

Finally a car that most Americans can afford.

Did you know that 80% of all drivers, drive less than 50 miles per day? This new car will cost an equivalent of $0.20-0.25 cents/gallon (depending on electricity rates in your area).

www.BGelectricCars.com
info@BGelectricCars.com