Electric Vehicles Powered Up for Test Drive in Israel

Pi Glilot, Israel (Feb. 7) -- If Shai Agassi has his way, your next car will be electric.

Agassi today inaugurated a center that allows visitors to learn about electric cars, test-drive them and put their name on a list to buy one. The cars are being made by Renault.

Agassi, a charismatic Israeli-American multi-millionaire, said his company, Better Place, will have thousands of electric cars on the road in Israel by 2011. At a news conference at the center today, Agassi said there will be between 70 and 100 battery "switch stations" in place by next year.

Each battery, which weighs in at more than 500 pounds, can go for 100 miles without being charged. Drivers who are taking longer trips can stop at "switch stations" and swap their battery for a full one. Customers will be able to charge the batteries at one of the stations or at their home or office.

Once the car is launched commercially he envisions bringing in 1,000 electric cars a month.

The California-based company Better Place, which is launching a similar project in Denmark, has global aspirations to set up similar networks all over the world. He said the infrastructure cost is the equivalent of one tank of gasoline per car on the road.

"Cars effectively are forced by a monopoly to use liquid fossil fuel and you end up with a dependence on oil. Ninety-nine plus percent of cars in the world drive on gasoline." Agassi said. "The price of oil per unit of energy is 25 times that of any other fossil fuel. The economic implications are that $3 trillion of the global economy gets sucked in to holes in the ground. We will solve that."

Agassi said they don't have final details about price, but the electric car will cost less than an equivalent gasoline car.

Better Place got a boost from the Israeli government today. In a move that Agassi said was "not coordinated" Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a special committee to end Israel's dependence on oil.

"This is one of the State of Israel's vital interests," Netanyahu said. "In my opinion, this is an international interest regarding air pollution, the instability of the international system as a result of the transfer of great sums of capital from certain countries, and – of course – the fact that certain countries which control the petroleum market also support terrorism."

The visitors center in this former fuel depot includes a multi-media presentation and the chance to drive the car on a special track at the center.

It's a little strange at first. There's no ignition key, just a square pad a little larger than a credit card that you use to start the car. You push a button to drive. The gas pedal is more responsive than a regular car. And there's no noise at all.

There are no emissions and no carbon footprint, either, Agassi said. The cars use electricity from Israel's regular electricity grid, powered by coal and natural gas. But the company is committed to buying as much "green" electricity as it uses to replace what it takes from the electricity grid.

Some critics have said the model is great for a small country like Israel or Denmark, but not practical for a large country like the United States. Agassi insists the model will work all over the world and will "end the world's dependency on oil."