Shai Agassi has a conversation with Tim O’Reilly about his Better Place model from Web 2.0 Summit ‘08 (32:52)
earth2tech has a related article in which Governor Jennifer Grandholm makes a trip to Israel to visit Shai and Better Place: Michigan Governor Looking for A Better Detroit?
update: California To Become The Electric Vehicle Capital of the US
Electric Vehicle Breakthrough Plan
by Cliff B. from SustainLane http://bit.ly/DjJR
…from the Henry Ford-Thomas Edison Business Plan for the 1914 introduction of a nationwide electric car system.
1914 – Ford is announcing a bold plan for electric vehicles to provide a national service station grid. Service stations will stock recharged battery trays, which slide into the electric vehicle in 75 seconds. The vehicle owner only leases the batteries. The new Nickle-Steel batteries have a much higher capacity than traditional lead acid types, along with a substantial weight advantage.
The stations will be equipped a grid linkage to the local electric system which allows them to charge overnight during off-peak hours. When the stations are in rural areas, a wind powered generation system is provided.
Paraphrased from my recent reading of the book “Internal Combustion” by Edwin Black