Battery Vehicle Society

An interesting 1-page ("Semi-Advertorial", in my opinion) article by Shai Agassi, founder and chief executive of "Better Place", appears on page 131 of the "25-Year Special Edition" of the Economist, currently on sale

He describes a common goal by China and Israel of "...breaking the inexorable connection between economic growth and oil-dependence". He says :
China seeks to be world leader in EV production by 2012,
Israel will have the worlds first battery-switching and vehicle-charging network in 2011,
Israel seeks to have a transport sector "completely free of petroleum" by 2020,
That the cost of such a network in Israel will be less than 7 days fuel-use by current petrol-engine cars in the country,
And That.....
"That amazingly small number holds true in most countries around the world - China included"

In a highlighted encapsulation he says
"Electric cars no longer require drivers to buy expensive batteries or to worry about limited driving distance"
I think the rest of the article is worth reading, and I hope Agassi is right
We shall see.......
Happy New Year
Ed

What I find interesting is that Nissan isnt going the same route as renault in Israel / Denmark, and who them selves isnt using the concept in europe. I spoke at length with a Nissan Chap, who couldnt see the swap out route as being viable, unless all vehicles adopted the same system. That isnt happening and the manufactureres arnt actually interested. At the moment they make a lot of cash in thier sales network through service and repair. They will still need EVs to want service, and one major source of funds will be the servicing of the batteries. Many EV manufacturers see a new way of vehicle purchase for individuals, which we dont normally use. ie Lease over 5 years or You buy the car and lease the batteries. Why? well the small hatchbacks that can be pruchased for £6K+ will cost over £20k as a battery vehicle.
For economic motoring we can only hope the Chinese sort themselves out, ie stop just copying european designs with no consideration to the originator. See BYD who look great on paper, but their small car is a rip off of the Aygo. Another one is a rip off of an older Passat.
Their batteries also seem to have a quality problem, even the American parent companies like Valence have had problems with their quality from the cinese factories. Hence I guess why Nissan have set uptheir Sunderland battery plant. Which I guess will only be assembing chinese made cells into packs, but hopefully will be hot on overall quality and assembly.

So great opportunities, yes likely to be dominated by the Chinese, as they hold the key to cheap batteries, and lots of people will be trying to make their fortune out of this huge shift in transport and infrastructure.

Grumpy-b