18 August 2008 One Comment Print This Article  Email This Article

I recently read an article in Wired Magazine titled, “Driven”, by Daniel Roth, and I really enjoyed it.  I wanted to write  about it and what its implications are so that I can rehash it and also spread the word about its ideas.

The article starts out highlighting the history, accomplishments, and visions of a man named Shai Agassi.  Shai is the former head of product development at SAP, a U.S. based software engineering company.

He became interested in developing sustainable and clean energy practices back in ‘05 when he joined a group called the Young Global Leaders.  Since then he has recently begun a new venture called Better Place.

Batteries are very expensive, heavy, toxic if disposed improperly, and take some time to recharge themselves.

Shai wants to make the combustible engine obsolete, entirely.  This is a very bold statement to make, considering America’s love of gasoline and the growl that it creates in the cars we have grown to love.

Currently there are many problems our nation is facing with the idea of bringing electric cars to market.  One of the biggest issues comes down to the batteries that an electric car requires.  Batteries are very expensive, heavy, toxic if disposed improperly, and take some time to recharge themselves.

Shai seems to think that if these obstacles were able to be overcome, his company, Better Place, would have made leaps and bounds toward making the electric car standard in the US and phasing out our gas guzzlers.

Shai Agassi Video

Shai Agassi has an Idea

His idea comes from looking at the business model of cell phone companies.  If you make the equipment easy to get you can then make your profits by offering a service, the type of service that will enjoy a constant need.

Here is the proposed business model of Better Place in a nutshell:

• Sell good electric cars at a low cost
• Provide batteries with the cars that Better Place owns, but leases to the customer
• Sell charging stations to be installed in home garages
• When the customer needs to charge their electric car, and are not close to their home station, they will have a “Charge Time Plan”, similar to a minute per month plan with cellular carriers

US drivers spend $3,000 a year on gasoline, Better Place could charge batteries for $1,000 a year

Currently, Shai’s plan is to begin to develop a network to test this idea out.  He has spoken with many European countries, several US State Senators, and has his eye on Hawaii as being the first test market.

There are Some Other Great Thinkers Out There

Jonathan Goodwin is a pioneer in creating alternative clean fuels for cars.  He is well known for converting a hummer into using bio-diesel.  Afterwards it will get 60mpg and twice the power.  To fuel it up he backs up to an old grease bin behind a restaurant and dumps it into the tank through a filter.

Jonathan Goodwin Video

In my opinion, the U.S. must reduce its dependence on oil starting yesterday.  The prices we are seeing now will only seem like pennies to what we could pay in the future.  Not only are oil prices a problem, but there is also the problem of creating carbon emissions that are incredibly high.

I believe that U.S. automakers have become extremely lazy in terms of addressing this issue as they continue to produce inefficient automobiles with combustible engines.  I don’t want to hear about their falling profits and dropping stock prices until they get real and begin to innovate for our future.

Further Reading

Jonathan Goodwin - Fast Company Article

Several Ways to Drive Green - Popular Mechanics

Electric Car Information - Wikipedia

Could the Electric Car Save Us? - CBS News

Reimagining the Automobile Industry by Selling the Electricity - Shai Agassi Interview - NY Times

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