Better Place
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Electric car battery swapping stations became reality yesterday as Better Place started delivering all-electric Renault Fluence Z.E. cars to customers in Israel. Unlike regular electric cars, Renault was commissioned to build the Fluence Z.E. with a battery pack that could be removed by automated machinery and replaced with a freshly-charged one in a few minutes. In fact, the battery swapping process is so fast that switching battery packs is quicker than filling up a gasoline car at the gas station. Not only does the process eliminate the need to plug an electric car in, but it also gives...
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Better Place Electric Car Infrastructure Company Gets $200 Million Additional FundingBetter Place, charging infrastructure, battery leasing and global pioneer of rapid battery swap stations for electric cars, has just announced it has secured $200 Million of investment in its series C funding. Aiming to make electric car ownership and refueling as simple and as quick as refueling a...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2012 Renault Fluence Z.E. Comprehensive Drive Report
You might not know it, but the 2012 Renault Fluence Z.E. electric car is technically the world’s most in-demand electric car. With a massive 100,000 cars ordered by battery swap and charging infrastructure company Better Place and production already underway, the French designed electric...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Say Hello To Electric Car Battery Swaps, Chinese Style
We all know that one of the biggest challenges facing electric cars is the fact that recharging a battery pack is orders of magnitude slower than filling a gasoline car’s fuel tank. As battery packs have become more advanced, we’ve seen an increased use of rapid charging technologies...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Bureaucrats Banish Better Place Because Charging Stations Aren’t Green
Did you hear about the Danish town where everything has to be Green? No, neither did we - until just now. Enter Frederiksberg Town Council, which has vetoed the installation of electric car charging stations owned by electric vehicle charging company Better Place because they are the wrong color...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Better Place Shows Off Europe's First Battery Switch Station
Better Place has moved a bit further down the road in its quest to corner the electric vehicle market. In Denmark, the company has just unveiled Europe's first Battery Switch Station, which will serve as the cornerstone of Better Place's biggest real-world test to date. The grand event was held at...
Richard Read -
What’s the best way to ensure that your electric vehicle technology gets adopted by as many consumers as possible? Take it to China, of course. That’s exactly what electric car infrastructure firm Better Place has done, with the announcement that it has signed a strategic agreement with the world’s eighth largest utility to provide battery swap stations in the area of China serviced by China Southern Grid (CSG). [Edit to clarify information -The deal comes hot on the heels of an announcement made by the world's largest utility company, the State Grid Corporation of China...
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Better Place: First Battery Swap Station, Profit In 2 Years?
Better Place, the ambitious program that's launching its electric-car service in Israel, opened its first battery-swap station there on Wednesday. At an event marking the opening, CEO Shai Agassi said the company would be profitable within two years of starting to provide mobility services to its...
John Voelcker -
Renault: Electric Car Battery Swapping Too Costly For Now
If you listen to the enthusiastic founder and CEO of Better Place Shai Agassi, the ability to swap depleted electric car battery packs for fully charged ones at a dedicated swap station is an essential and much-needed part of electric vehicle infrastructure. But while the ultra-fast way of getting...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Is There a Business Case for Electric-Car Battery Lease or Swap?
As 2010 draws to a close, we now have shipments of the 2011 Nissan LEAF and the 2011 Chevy Volt to customers around the United States. With the advent of these vehicles, is there still a business case for Better Place? To refresh your memory, Better Place is the venture between Shai Agassi and...
Jason Hendler -
Want to Hail An Electric Taxi Cab? Head for San Francisco
Urban taxi service may be the equal of any proving-ground torture test. Taxis are driven hard, up to 20 hours a day, and must handle both bad roads and bad drivers. Those that survive without falling apart should do fine in civilian duty. Which is why Better Place chose Tokyo to test out its...
John Voelcker -
Better Place Launches Battery-Swap Test In Four Tokyo Taxis
This past Monday, the electric-vehicle infrastructure provider Better Place held a press conference in Tokyo at the site of its first completed battery-swap station to be put into regular usage, in the Ropongi Hills area. Together with Nihon Kotsu, Tokyo's largest taxi company, the company will...
John Voelcker -
Driving a mile on electricity always costs less than using gasoline for the same mile. Now Better Place, the consortium wiring Israel with electric-car recharging stations and battery quick-swap facilities, has upped the ante: They claim their electric cars will cost $4,500 to $7,500 less than gasoline cars. It's an audacious statement, even if they're fudging on two counts. No pack, government aid First, the price they're citing is for a fully electric car--initially a 2011 Renault Fluence EV sedan--minus the lithium-ion battery pack that gives it 100 miles of range, which could cost as much...
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Frankfurt: Ah, the French! Renault's 4 Electric Car Concepts
French carmaker Renault, whose partner Nissan recently unveiled its 2012 Nissan Leaf compact electric hatchback, showed no fewer than four separate electric-car concepts at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show. All labeled ZE for "zero emissions", they are: Twizy ZE: A tandem two-seater with performance...
John Voelcker -
GreenCarReports: 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show Coverage
It's time: the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show is upon us, and High Gear Media is live at the biggest, hottest Messe in the world to bring you the latest on green cars, diesels, electric cars, hybrid electric vehicles, E-REVs, and NEVs right here at GreenCarReports.com. We've previewed the Frankfurt show...
John Voelcker
