Could our definition of Mobility Revolution be wrong? We were thinking that our idea about 30% of entire fleet to be Electric by 2020 means tectonic shift and disruptive technology in the making. better place dreamers are thinking even Bigger and we need this kind of people for our Next Big Thing to happen.
We think that this concept will be one of many, but they will all be based on a safe Lithium batteries with increased capacity and the main driving force of new Bull will be Electric Cars Ecomonics. Should we discuss the Supply of Lithium again?
Peter Alford, Tokyo correspondent May 13, 2009
Article from: The Australian
AUSTRALIA'S light vehicle fleet will have entirely converted from petrol to electric power in 20 years, says Evan Thornley, who quit the Brumby Government last December to run the Australian operation of battery systems company Better Place.Mr Thornley’s prediction came as Better Place today launched in Yokohama, Japan a world-first automated battery-switch station, a breakthrough in making plug-in electric cars a practical reality, he says. “What it means for the world is there is now a viable technology for mass adoption of electric vehicles (EVs),” Mr Thornley told The Australian. Automated switching stations, where charged batteries can be swapped for flattened ones in less time than it takes to fill a conventional petrol tanks, helps solve the problem of limited travel range which until now has hampered the adoption of EVs. Better Place plans to roll-out an Australian network of EV charging points and battery stations from 2012, following the system’s launch in Israel in 2011 and then in Denmark. The range of current EV batteries is about 160km and Mr Thornley says most electric drivers will mostly use charging-points or home power, but battery-swapping makes distance driving a reality. “People will quickly realise electric vehicles are a good alternative when you can recharge them anywhere, but they’re a much better alternative if you can get a new battery in three minutes or less and keep driving.” The Yokohama battery station was unveiled today as part of a Japanese Government project to test electric cars operating under normal city conditions. Mr Thornley, a multi-millionaire internet entrepreneur was elected to the Victorian Parliament in 2006 and angered many Labor colleagues when he quit the government and his seat on the eve of being offered a ministry. The Victorian Opposition attacked him moving to a company that was negotiating with the Brumby Government to bring its project to Victoria. Denying he was looking for a way out of politics, Mr Thornley said he first became aware of what Better Place was doing early in 2008, through venture capital acquaintances in California. He said he became increasingly attracted because the company was offering a solution in one system to issues that had concerned him for 25 years - hydrocarbon pollution, energy security and reliability, and Australia’s excessive reliance on imported oil. Then he was approached in September by Better Place’s founder Shai Agassi with the offer to head Better Place Australia. “I was very happy doing what I was doing, I was honoured to be part of what I thought was the best government in Victoria’s history, I hope I was making a contribution. “I had no plans of doing anything else, when suddenly this loomed very, very large and I was put in a position where I had to make a decision between two very exciting alternatives."
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