Electric cars getting a jump start? [SIZE=-1]
It was only a year or two ago that hydrogen seemed all the rage. It should be no surprise that the hydrogen/fuel cell solution has become rather muted of late. The hurdles concerning the lack of production, delivery and storage infrastructure as well as the daunting cost of materials involved in a fuel cell stack itself are blunting enthusiasm. Recently, the government announced that it will radically scale back funding of hydrogen research on the grounds that the hydrogen economy is just too far away. This despite the fact that automakers have invested billions in prototype hydrogen vehicles, some of which we?ve driven .
Lately, though, battery-electric vehicles have been making all the headlines. Some examples:
BMW is offering leases on its Mini E.
Toyota is working on an electric version of its tiny IQ.
Mitsubishi announced it will offer the mini MiEV here soon.
Ford will have two electric models by 2011, the TransitConnect small van, and the Focus.
Chrysler has said it will make a range of electric-powered models by 2011, including a sedan, sports car, minivan, and Jeep.
Tesla has shown the Tesla S.
The Chevrolet Volt extended range EVs from GM and the Fisker Karma both look like they will actually go on sale.
Among other visionaries, Carlos Ghosn and Shai Agassi were pivotal in switching the focus from hydrogen to electric energy for personal transportation. Ghosn, the no-nonsense head of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, set his company on course to make 10 percent of Nissan?s lineup electric vehicles by 2015. And when Ghosn makes up his mind, you better take it seriously. It was his hard driving that reversed the bumbling course of Infiniti at the beginning of this decade and turned the brand into a Japanese BMW.
Agassi is the charismatic young Israeli entrepreneur who founded Project Better Place. His Silicon Valley start-up has gathered $300 million in venture capital. Agassi has been receiving standing ovations as he preaches his vision around the world, even among the most skeptical audiences.
Agassi and his crew are working to assemble national networks of car-charging stations and battery-swapping centers. The battery-swap concept is the more ambitious prong of the initiative. The idea is that you would pull your EV into a swap center and a robot would switch out the old battery and install a fully-charged new one in a matter of minutes. Initially, Israel will provide the test bed for this set-up. In, Denmark, Australia, and parts of Oregon and California have signed up for the program, which could be the game changer that facilitates the acceptability of electric vehicles. According to this scheme, Renault-Nissan will supply cars. A Nissan-NEC joint venture is on-tap to supply the lithium-ion battery. Project Better Place will take care of the recharging infrastructure and the billing.
The Better Place scheme is nothing if not audacious but let?s take first things first. For now, that means a mass-market electric car that?s almost comparable in usefulness to a conventional internal-combustion car. Just over a year from now, Nissan says it will sell an aerodynamic four-door electric hatchback, based on a Sentra-sized car. It is expected to sell in the $25,000-$33,000 neighborhood and be able to average 100 miles between charges. At first it will be offered to utility companies and municipalities. By 2012, it is slated to go on sale to regular consumers. A $7,500 federal tax credit will apply. (Read: ?Plugged in to Nissan's upcoming electric car.?)*
Regardless of how successful that Nissan is, it?s another boost in getting the electric vehicle idea off the drawing board and onto the road.
?Gabe Shenhar[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Subscribe now![/SIZE]
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