Shai Agassi -The Next Bill Gates? A Bold Plan for the Mass Adoption of Electric Cars

Forget about the hybrid auto -- Shai Agassi shares his global electric car vision for a radical plan to take entire countries oil-free by 2020.

Comments

[Monica Dickey]

It's great to see someone with some real vision talking about how to make this huge change instead of the baby steps and compromises approach that seems to be so popular right now. No matter what someone's politics are, I can't see how getting off oil and cutting pollution in the long term can be spun into anything but essential goals.

[Anonymous Coward]

Damn you Israel!

[xyritheon]

Very inspiring. I think its obviously just a matter of time (shorter rather than longer, I hope).

[Jimmy]

He's on the right track, but his focus is wrong.

Battery swapping tech has so many logistical challenges it is not even funny. Every car company will have its own battery dimensions, chemistry, hookups... There is no standardized battery right now, which is a problem we have with lots of technology these days. Tesla's battery is one of the companies strongest pieces of intellectual property... it would not be good business for them to install a Better Place pack.

We are not doomed however... Fast charging and new battery chemistry will save us. Charging off 220v or 440v current can charge a car in under an hour. In a few years battery tech will improve drastically... perhaps double then double again then double again...

[Bhrat]

Why do we even need batteries ?

Why not work on Wireless electricity that cars/Vehicles can get from Electric Light Poles which light up Roads in Big cities and highways even in motion ?

After polluting Oil we are thinking of battery cars which is like out of frying pan into fire in terms of pollution.

I guess its big battery syndicate after big oil then ?
I think wireless electric vehicles is the only final solution but the herd mentality will waste precious humanity resources on Battery vehicles now.

God Please help.

[Chris]

I personally love the idea of electric cars, but I'm not so sure other people like them.

[Thomas the Tom Barnhart and Hudson the Hud Griffith]

Thank God for progressive thinkers in the advancement of society. The Conservative Movement, Republicans and Constitution Party are the parties of no and negative status quo and would through a tea party in protest to this one!

I say God Damn the Members of the Constitution Party who hate immigrants, gays and non-christians. Fine call me a hate speaker; But those who hate gays, immigrants and dissenters are "HATERS!" It isn't Christian like to be a hater and hypocritical to condemn the hate speaker in this context when they are the hater... dontchyathink?!

[Hud Griffith Tom Barnhart]

It makes me sad to visit an old friend's facebook page to learn nothing about them except their quest to meld the Bible with the Constitution and destroy individual freedoms for unfettered economic growth, the ultimate goal of the Constitution Party. They loathe the electric car and moon shots.

[GL]

Bhrat,

Are you serious about wireless electric cars? Don't you think we get enough radiation exposure as it is with cellphones, wi-fi, and everything else around us?

If there were wireless electric poles like you mention surrounding every road, powerful enough to satisfy the number of cars on the road today, we would all get brain cancer instantly as soon as we set foot on the street.

[Harrrie]

We need neighborhoods, towns, and cities that are designed with bike lanes, and commuter trains, and where everything we need is in the community we live in. Which includes, food, fuel, employment, schools, play, medical and dental centers, etc. We shouldn't have to commute to get everything we need. I can't buy anything or work anywhere without driving at least 3 miles. I would be glad to use my bike 3 season but there are no bike lanes. While our living areas are being redesigned, we can redesign our roads so that the traffic causes vibration which generates electricity, and that electricity can be transferred to our vehicles somehow (maybe like electric trains?). It would be a self perpetuating system. Electricity runs our cars, our cars generate electricity to run our cars. The same thing can be done with the floors of all public buildings, and our homes for that matter. We walk, it causes vibration, the motion is used to generate electricity which can be used to run our buildings and homes. Giant water wheels can be installed on the ocean floor in the Gulf stream along the east coast to generate electricity. We can give up our beautiful views and build wind farms. Granted, its a great loss but the electricity is needed. Do you want your children to get their electricity from coal or gas? Does it matter if we drive on gas or on self perpetuating electricity? It matters more than we can imagine. I opt for electric. BTW, someone has to figure out how to harness the energy coming from the sun. There is more energy streaming from our star in one minute than our whole world can use in a year.

[mayank]

This is truely inspiring and innovative ....
wish he is able to do what he has said...

[meh]

batteries are only the second half of agassi's plan. the first half is to generate electricity entirely or mostly from renewables and then store them in these car batteries -- thereby circumventing renewables' biggest problem - storage. storing renewables in car batteries is all good.. but i hope somebody thinks of first 'storing' renewables in desalination plants. the third world clean drinking water more critically than it needs clean air.

[varapetra]

This is a great idea. And other EV supercars are making impressions in the headlines. Models like ZAP's Alias are making the concept far more attractive than before.

[Ted Selker]

gosh but

-Today's generation systems (coal, natural gas, etc) are no more than 40% efficient.

-??? transmission system loss???

-The transformer on the poll at the end of your driveway is currently 70% efficient

-The power supply for charging the batteries will not be better than 90% (80% is really more typical).

-??? battery charging efficiecy ???

-The powersupply in the car will not be better than 90% (80% more realistic).

-the motor is not going to be more efficient than 85%.

= 19% efficecient * transmission efficiency * charging efficiency
~~~19% if transmission and charging efficiency have no losses ... but transmission and charging have been big losers of energy.

if each of these is is 50%..
~~~ .19 * .50? * .50? = 4% efficiency

Remember the internal cumbusion engine is around 30% ,
the gas is only one of the reagents, batteries have to carry both reagents before and after it is used.

First lets replace the 14 terawatts of electricity we NOW use with alternative energy.