Will plan for electric vehicle charging network catch on?

U.S. firm wants to put thousands of charging stations in workplaces, homes, public locations

Oct 10, 2009

There's no pill for "driving-range anxiety," and that's a major roadblock facing electric cars.

Who would want their battery to die mid-trip or, just as bad, be forced to endure a long plug-in?

Project Better Place says it has a plan to eliminate any need for stress-relief meds. Analysts say the California-based company, founded and headed by indefatigable young entrepreneur Shai Agassi, has a compelling concept, but they question its prospects.

Obviously, the most critical and difficult component of an electric car is the battery. Businesses everywhere are trying to develop reliable, relatively cheap versions able to propel vehicles reasonable distances at highway speeds, backed by systems that permit quick recharges.

Despite impressive claims, they have a long way to go, says David Kirsch, an electric-vehicle historian at the University of Maryland. To date, "the pure electric vehicle has a feeling of leaving the garage every morning with a quarter-tank of gas."

Batteries might dramatically improve, or not, he says, but Better Place's novel idea is to remove that uncertainty from its business equation. If the system works, any old battery – even old-school lead-acid – would suffice.

The company won't make anything. Instead, it will sell driving minutes to those with cars compatible with its system. That involves thousands of high-voltage charging stations at customers' homes and workplaces and in public locations; and, to cover when there's no time for even a quick charge, a much smaller number of swapping stations using robot technology to exchange a discharged battery for a fresh one in a couple of minutes.

The system is to be up and running in Israel and Denmark in two years. Australia and North America – with Ontario high on the list – are to follow.

Renault is, to date, the only carmaker to sign on: It promises a compatible sedan by 2011, with 100,000 by 2016.

Better Place customers will let customers plug in only at one of its charging stations. It needs the exclusive network to generate revenue but says it's also essential to keep the power grid stable: An on-board computer will link the car and the local electricity utility to determine the best time of day to charge a plugged-in battery.

Commuters might stick the plug into the socket as soon as they arrive home from work but charging wouldn't begin then if electricity demand were high; it could be delayed until consumption drops.

Conversely, the computer could call for power to be removed from plugged-in cars in peak periods.

This is complex stuff. The system must account for drivers' habits and preferences, the effect of weather on electricity consumption, how demand changes depending on time, day or season, and many other variables.

The software, still under development, will keep each car "constantly in contact with the Better Place control centre," the company says.

The swap station concept was tried last summer in Yokohama, Japan. The experiment, in which two cars repeatedly underwent battery changes with minimal driving, "was to show we could move a battery in and out," Paluska says.

Some industry people suggest electric-vehicle batteries are too complex to be simply be plugged in like a lamp, and that vibrations could disrupt connections.

They also question the economics. Each of thousands of stations would require not only the robotic devices and high-voltage chargers but also plenty of batteries, worth at least $8,000 apiece.

Paluska says he's confident about durability: The plug has five "super-industrial-grade" connectors; latches resembling those that attach heavy weapons to F16 fighter jets hold the battery. The gear will be tested early next year when a swap station outside a "hot" Tokyo hotel is to service three electric taxis carrying real passengers, 24 hours a day, under real conditions.

As for costs, Better Place estimates that each swap line, equivalent to a gas pump, would handle 16 cars per hour. With recharging expected to take about 50 minutes, each line would require 15 batteries and a spare – if one battery design fit all cars. Better Place aims to minimize choice: "We'll stock batteries for the vehicles that are most attractive ... that have the most volume," Paluska says. Still, it will need several varieties.

Better Place's plan calls for swap stations at 40-kilometre intervals. Creating such a network might be feasible in small, densely populated countries but would be a challenge in Australia and North America. The stations are supposed to be spaced so as to allow lengthy trips. Yet economics will dictate if they're installed, at least initially, around population centres – where they're least needed.

That's part of a 10- to 15-year transition, Paluska says. Most North Americans have two cars. Until the system is complete, they could continue to use a gas-powered vehicle for long distances.

Swap stations might be useful in cities, perhaps for people in highrises where Better Place couldn't install chargers. But "it becomes a math problem," says Thilo Koslowski, a senior auto-industry analyst at Connecticut-based IT advisers Gartner Inc. "How many electric vehicles will you have and how many people will use them to drive hundreds of kilometres?"

In any case, "there's no guarantee this is sufficient to allay consumers' fears," Kirsch says. And, "they have to deliver the system. It's a risky start-up venture. It needs to be tested at scale. You need to spend $1 billion to test if it will work."

It's uncertain how many carmakers will sign with Better Place. The company says it's talking with several, but even Renault is hedging its bet: Of its four proposed electric models, only one will be designed for the system. Renault's global partner, Nissan, isn't making its all-electric Leaf, due in 2011, compatible with Better Place.

Going electric alone might entail greater risk, but "they'll take that instead of tying themselves to Better Place," Kirsch says.

"They don't want to be a commodity manufacturer," facing fierce price competition, "while Better Place gets the sweet spot of the value chain ... the customer relationship ... the thing that's creating value."

Carmakers must agree to follow Better Place designs, Koslowski notes. "The difficulty is they're reluctant to follow the design requirements of another company, especially one that intends to take on some of the customer relationship.

"Manufacturers ... have a major interest in differentiating their products from others and providing services. So there's a potential conflict of interest with Better Place."

What counts, the company insists, is that battery power will become the dominant car mover. "The debate now is, is it fixed or switchable?" Paluska says. "You'll see that debate over the next couple of years."

pgorrie@sympatico.ca

Toronto Star