In a step forward for electric vehicle fans around the world, Better Place premiered its first functional charging station in Israel the first week of December. The company’s charging station was designed by San Francisco-based New Deal Design and implemented with the help of Nekuda DM. Better Place’s prototype electric vehicles (EVs) won’t need to stay close to the charging station, located at Cinema City in Pi-Glilot, as additional stations will be completed within the next year.
While Better Place is focusing its attention on Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa, the newly unveiled charging station will be spreading worldwide soon. Better Place EVs will be tested in Hawaii, California, Denmark and Australia soon after charging infrastructure is completed. For the time being, Better Place is creating charge stations at Israeli branches of Bazel, IBM and Axelrod to make EV travel possible.
The Better Place EV infrastructure only starts with the charging station. The company has separated itself from its nascent competition by including battery exchange areas within its charging infrastructure. These areas allow long-distance commuters to swap out spent batteries, avoiding the stigma of limited mileage associated with electric vehicles. Better Place has installed onboard software in each of its prototypes that allows a driver to interface with the station’s service control center. Once the prototype is plugged into the charging station, Better Place’s onboard software uses energy consumption and other driving statistics to create an individualized charging plan.
Better Place’s charging station was put through multiple filters before installation in Pi-Glilot. New Deal Design, Nekuda DM and Better Place created a connector for the charging station that will meet plug-in standards around the world. The proposed locations for future charging stations were based on factors like government incentives, ease of installation, overall cost to consumers and popularity of alternative fuels. The rollout of additional charging stations by Better Place focuses on reaching potential EV drivers where they work and play. Better Place’s genius stroke in developing these charging stations was the onboard software, which will diminish issues of overloaded electrical grids by managing consumption for individual vehicles. The only blockades to further progress are the shortsightedness of government officials globally (particularly in the United States) as well as complacency in the face of plummeting gas prices.
