Israeli gas stations to swap Better Place car batteries

February 8, 2010 7:20 AM PST

by Martin LaMonica

Electric car service company Better Place on Sunday announced deals with corporate fleet operators and a gas station company in Israel, steps toward launching a country-wide network of all-electric cars next year.

Ninety two companies said they plan to host charging stations for Better Place electric cars and a gas station operator will host battery switching stations.

A charging point for electric vehicles in Israel.

(Credit: Better Place) With the deals in place and support from the Israeli government, Better Place projects that it will be operating a country-wide network of thousands of charging stations by 2011, according to reports.

During a presss conference, Israel-born Better Place CEO Shai Agassi predicted that by 2020 there will be more electric cars sold in Israel than gasoline cars. The deal with corporate fleet operators translates into over half the fleet cars in the country, he told Reuters.

Better Place's business model is to provide driving plans for electric vehicle owners, roughly analogous to mobile phone plans. A person or company can purchase a certain number driving miles per month for a fee and refill batteries at home and corporate charging stations. They can also swap out batteries, which are owned by Better Place, for fresh ones.

It has signed on Renault Nissan which will manufacture cars with swappable batteries and a driving range of about 100 miles. Earlier this month, Better Place raised $350 million to expand into Israel, Denmark, and other locations, an investment led by bank HSBC.

Better Place has not signed on any other carmakers and many people have questioned whether its business model will work, particularly in the U.S. where driving distances can be longer than other countries.

By contrast, its business is better suited for Israel, where there is a strong national interest to reduce oil imports, many people drive corporate cars, and there is a relatively small geography to work with.

Also on Sunday, the company said it will open a demonstration facility, which includes a driving track and displays to explain how how the electric charging network will operate