Shai Agassi of Better Place
Left, right and centre –– everywhere I look these days, the media is in a frenzy over Shai Agassi, the Israeli with the dream to electrify the car business through his Palo Alto business Better Place. America is plugging into the idea, and has declared that the states of California and Hawaii will be the first to implement new billion dollar infrastructure.
Limitations of using the electric car can be overcome, expresses the company, if charge stations are readily made available and if people can swap entire batteries for longer trips. It’s not just America buying into the concept: Israel, Denmark, and Australia have pledged their intent on setting up such electric car infrastructure. Tel Aviv is installing a pilot plant.
Could Canada be next? A CTV journalist seems eager to have Canada jump on board (see the current CTV piece: Better Place: An infrastructure idea Mr. Harper)
According to Jeremy Cato from CTV, now could be prime time for Prime Minister Harper to consider Shai Agassi’s electric car project –– “the new darling of the electric car/green energy crowd,” says Cato. “The company’s ideas are worth thinking about,” he explains, “as the Canadian Government readies a multi-billion-dollar stimulus package that is sure to include new spending on infrastructure.”
He continues: “The global economic crisis is forcing governments in Canada and around the world to make new infrastructure investments as part of major economic stimulus packages. And second, auto companies starved for cash and anxious to secure funds for short-term survival and long-term product development, have never been more willing to change.
“Let’s not forget that this is the time when the Detroit Three — Chrysler LLC, Ford Motor Co., and General Motors Corp. – are begging for government assistance and are actively seeking it in the form of loan guarantees in both Canada and the United States. This is when these three have already made public their plans to roll out electric cars and various types of electric vehicles and gasoline-electric hybrids and all want government aid to help them achieve their goals.”
The Wired magazine illustration of how Agassi’s electric car will work:
Now I’ve written about some limitations of Agassi’s electric car in Israel (blogged over on the Huffington Post, and then Autoblog Green). But knowing Canadians, however, don’t foresee a time when most Cannucks would forego using their minivans and pickups in lieu of public transportation (which I advocate over new infrastructure ); electric cars, are yet incapable of ploughing through rugged Canadian landscape. And I personally wouldn’t use one in a snow storm. (Read here about the limitations of Canada’s own homegrown Zenn electric car, now available for purchase in Canada)
Where Better Place could work is on island communities in Canada –- Victoria/Vancouver Island could be a good testing ground for them, versus let’s say a maritime province like PEI or Newfoundland, where the population is less dense and more scattered throughout rural communities.
Or maybe Manitoulin Island could make an interesting pilot site for Canada’s electric car –– renting them to tourists, and turning it into a unique business opportunity for Canada’s indigenous people.
A rescue plan for Canada’s auto industry?
Like America, a healthy percentage of Canada’s gross domestic product relies on the automotive industry –– 2.2% in Canada, versus 1.3 in the US. As a daughter of a retired GM employee in Oshawa (thanks for the braces, the great health insurance and dental plan!), and a sister of a woman who’s been laid off her job at Magna, the health of the auto industry in Canada is a personal issue for me. Putting aside my environmental reservations, I’ll be cheerleading for Better Place in Canada if it means replacing lost jobs to all those who have been supporting their families from Canada’s auto industry.
Cato suggests that Canada has an opportunity to “make a difference” by investing in electric car infrastructure for a future when all-electric cars are commonplace, affordable and sensible in many ways. Such a move could also replace lost jobs: “The moment for the Canadian Government is now,” he urges.
What do you think? Should Canada go electric?
::CTV
Read more on Israel’s electric car guru, Shai Agassi:
California Revs Up For Israel’s Shai Agassi And A $1 Billion Electric Car Scheme
Green Smoke And Mirrors: A Voice of Reason on Shai Agassi’s Electric Car Scheme
Sales of Canada’s “Zenn” Electric Car Manufacturer Collapse
Zenn Cars Cleared For Sale in Canada
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1 Making The Province of Ontario A Better Place // Jan 23, 2009 at 11:36 am
[...] blogged about Agassi earlier on Canada’s Israel here. And the announcement that Better Place plans to set up an Ontario office is no surprise. The [...]
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