GigaOM » Project Better Place

Vid-Biz: Panasonic, Time Warner, UGC

Chris Albrecht — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:12:17 +0000

Panasonic to Cut 15,000 Jobs, or 5 Percent of Its Workforce; facing tough times the consumer electronics giant will also close 27 manufacturing sites (12 percent of its worldwide production facilities). (The Wall Street Journal)

Time Warner Expanding Metered Broadband; details are few, but more cities to face the cable company’s stingy policies — better watch what you download. (GigaOM)

Nearly Half of U.S. Internet Users to View UGC Vids by 2013; this is up from 36 percent in 2008. (eMarketer)

NaviSite Hooks Up with EdgeCast Networks; partnership will yield a new portfolio of CDN-based services such as caching, electronic file delivery, streaming, API tools and support. (emailed release)

Italian Judge Suspends Decision in Google Video Case; Criminal Court of Milan pauses to consider procedural issues (it’s a common occurrence), proceedings to continue Feb. 18. (see our previous coverage) (The Privacy Advisor)

Commercials Make TV More Enjoyable? New NYU study finds that people who watched TV with commercial breaks included rated their experience higher. Huh? (The Live Feed)

Matt Smith Joins Inlet Technologies; Smith was previously with Yahoo and is now the senior director, systems architecture for the encoding company. (release (PDF)

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Daimler, Enel to Launch Electric Car Network in Italy

Josie Garthwaite — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 21:00:30 +0000

Luxury automaker Daimler of Germany together with Italy’s largest electricity producer, Enel, plan to roll out more than 100 electric vehicles and 400 charging stations for testing in Rome, Milan and Pisa by 2010. Executives from the companies agreed last week that Daimler will supply and maintain electric Smart Fortwos and Enel will deploy infrastructure, including a system for drivers to locate available stations and a central control center. Kicking off on the heels of EV network deals in Hawaii, Japan and Germany, this latest “e-mobility Italy” project gives Silicon Valley yet another rival in the race to birth the era of Car 2.0.

While we doubt it caused Daimler’s “talks” with Better Place to fall through, Enel’s infrastructure plan could create a more direct path to reducing vehicle-related emissions than Shai Agassi’s fast-rising strategy, which involves creating the demand and storage capacity necessary for energy companies to start turning away from fossil fuels. The Daimler-Enel partnership eliminates the middleman.

Enel has built out its renewable energy capacity in recent years to take advantage of incentives from the Italian government, and it said last week that it will supply all of the charging stations with electricity verified by Europe’s Renewable Energy Certificate System, which awards credits for energy generated from clean sources such as solar, wind, and geothermal.

Daimler, which announced a partnership with German utility RWE for an EV network in Berlin last September, plans to launch similar projects throughout Europe and in the U,S.

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Ireland Calls for 10% Electric Cars by 2020

Josie Garthwaite — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 01:02:49 +0000

The Bay Area mayors who last week set out to make their region an electric vehicle capital have a new rival overseas. Ireland’s government today announced a goal to have 10 percent of all cars running on electricity by 2020. It plans to offer incentives, such as tax writeoffs for businesses’ electric-vehicle purchases, launch a $1.3 million research fund, and invest in infrastructure for the some 250,000 electric vehicles planned to hit Ireland’s roads over the next 12 years.

Ireland’s energy and transport ministers hope the move will spur an influx of international investment and free up capital currently spent on fossil fuel imports, helping revive the Celtic Tiger, which has recently burrowed deep into recession.

This could mean new opportunities for startups like Better Place, which has infrastructure development deals with Israel, Denmark and California (and says it’s in talks with 25 countries). Or Couloumb Technologies, which has teamed up with San Jose to deploy “smart charging” stations throughout the city. The Independent reported earlier this week — and Better Place confirmed with us today — that the company has already met with Ireland’s government and major utility. In a statement released today, Christian Engelfeldt, business development director for Better Place in the EU, said the company is “actively evaluating” the Irish market.

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Better Place Goes Down Under to Electrify Australia

Craig Rubens — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:30:14 +0000

Better Place announced this afternoon that it is heading Down Under to deploy its electric car infrastructure in Australia. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup is working with Australian utility AGL Energy to build an electric car charging grid powered by renewable energy. Macquarie Capital Group will finance the AUD$1 billion ($671 million) undertaking. Starting in the heavily populated areas around Melbourne and Sydney, Better Place plans to have the infrastructure up and running by 2012, when its automotive partner Renault-Nissan will start selling electric cars all over the world.

So why has Better Place decided to set up shop in one of the world’s Top 20 most polluting nations? Better Place knows that size matters, and while critics say the model can only work in diminutive markets like Israel and Denmark, the company needs to show it can scale. If founder Shai Agassi can make it work in Australia, the world’s largest transportation island, he should be be able to make it work anywhere.

Update:During the press call announcing the deal, Agassi blamed the world’s “appetite for oil” for the global economic crisis. The entrepreneur wasted no time comparing the east coast of Australia, where Better Place will build “electric highways” connecting Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, to the West Coast of the U.S. where Agassi would like to do the same between L.A., San Francisco and Seattle. The greater Melbourne-Sydney metro area will require 200,000 to 250,000 charging stations, Agassi said. Better Place plans on deploying some 500,000 charging points for the whole of Israel.

Better Place’s Australian debut follows a year-long shift in Australian politics toward a greener government. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd signed the Kyoto Protocol his first day on the job and has made energy and climate change top priorities. Rudd wants to set up a carbon trading scheme by 2010 and has set the target of generating 20 percent of the country’s power from renewables by 2020.

It won’t be easy. Australia is the world’s third-largest producer of coal and generates 80 percent of its power from the sooty stuff, according to the World Coal Institute. But the country also has vast wind, solar and geothermal resources. The government recently invested AUD$50 million to tap more geothermal power and estimates that the country could produce 22,000 megawatts of solar power by 2020. AGL says it will accelerate its renewable energy plans, specifically wind energy, which can work very well with a fleet of charging EVs at night.

The government is also working to clean up its auto industry and created the Green Car Innovation Fund, which will make AUD$500 million available for automakers to build greener cars. Car ownership rates in Australia have been climbing steadily and Better Place estimates the country — which boasts a population of 21 million — bought 1 million cars just last year.

Agassi said in a statement that all these factors create “a compelling case for automobile manufacturers to jump in and build clean, safe, affordable electric cars for Australasia and Southeast Asia.” Already Better Place is using its newest partnership to encourage more countries to go electric. There are plenty of smaller transportation islands through Southeast Asia that could prove fertile for Better Place’s model.

This is the first big announcement from the year-old startup since March, when it said it would be working in Denmark. Renault-Nissan and Better Place seem to be approaching the country-by-country electrification of vehicles like a formal dance. “Sometimes we lead and sometimes Renault-Nissan leads,” Better Place told us today. “In this today case, we’re taking the lead.”

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Renault to Electrify French Cars by 2011

Craig Rubens — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:33:36 +0000

Automaker Renault announced today it has teamed up with French utility EDF to build a huge electric vehicle infrastructure, starting in France, with the goal of making electric cars a viable and attractive option by 2011. The partners will jointly develop a commercial project, open to third parties, that will spread and maintain charging stations, eventually creating what Renault calls an “Electric Mobility Operator” to manage the system. French President Sarkozy endorsed the project at the Paris auto show today and added that the French government, which owns 85 percent of EDF and 15 percent of Renault, will contribute €400 million (roughly $546 million) to the development of electric and hybrid vehicles.

Interestingly, electric infrastructure startup Better Place was not mentioned in this announcement. Renault and EDF say the project will be open to third parties and the lack of details concerning the “Operator” have us wondering. Palo Alto, Calif.-based company Better Place is of course tailored for the role, and the startup says, in its own release, that it is “very excited” about the news, and is already in talks with Renault and EDF to help not only with this project in France but to “develop a pan-European electric vehicle network.”

Sarkozy became acquainted with the Better Place idea earlier this year during a visit to Israel, where he met with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Better Place Founder and CEO Shai Agassi and took a Better Place EV for a spin.

France will now be one of the first markets to see Renault’s all-electric offerings along with Israel and Denmark (where the car maker does have deals with Better Place) and Portugal, as well as Tennessee and the Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan, where Renault has similar partnerships with local authorities and utilities. The first models will be an electric version of Renault’s Kangoo van and a yet-to-be-seen electric sedan called the Fluence.

The news solidifies Renault-Nissan’s vision of the automotive future. Together they are the world’s fourth largest automaker, and their joint CEO and president Carlos Ghosn wants his companies to be leaders in zero-emission vehicles; he has said he thinks that pure electrics are the way to go. Renault EV project director Serge Yoccoz reportedly estimates that electric cars could grab 10 to 15 percent of the European market by 2015.

Update: Shai Agassi blasted Chevy’s foray into electric cars this week, saying to the Wall Street Journal: “The Volt is a $20,000 car that will cost $40,000. It will be a niche product.” GM’s global vehicle line executive for the Chevy Volt Frank Weber replied in kind, telling the MIT Technology Review that he thinks Renault’s electric commuter cars are a niche product and that “electric vehicles are not a good choice.” “Niche” must be the pejorative automotive term du jour.

Images courtesy of Better Place.

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Renault Shows Off the Super-Efficient Z.E. Concept

Tony Borroz — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 21:00:20 +0000

Auto shows can be like fashion shows, where the designers bring out both their bread-and-butter designs, as well as things more fanciful. Debuting at the Paris Auto Show that starts this weekend, Renault’s Z.E. Concept car seems to be a little of both.

The Z.E., which stands for Zero Emissions, is a hatchback design, and, surprisingly for a French car, not all that disturbingly quirky. Based on Renault’s Kangoo be bop, the Z.E. Concept is powered by a 70kW electric motor that puts out 226Nm of torque from the now-ubiquitous/fashionable lithium-ion batteries.

Renault does some interesting things, design-wise, to help put as little load as possible on those lithium-ion batteries. All the things that people expect in their cars — radios, heaters, air conditioning, headlights — drain power that could be used to move an electric car a few more clicks down the road.

Renault has designed the body to work like a thermos flask, using two insulating panels with a sandwich of air in between, to keep you warm and cozy inside your car without quickly flattening your battery charge. Solar panels on the roof power what Renault terms a “temperature regulation system,” that handles AC and maintains cabin temperature, even while stopped in traffic or parked.

Renault, which is already working with Better Place to bring EVs and charging stations to partner countries like Israel, has a leg up on the infrastructure end of the equation — although the company failed to mention either of those things in relation to the Z.E. So although Z.E. Concept is just for show on the fashion runways of this years Paris Auto Show, it may also be offering a glimpse of what future Renault electric vehicles could be. Perhaps we’ll one day see designs based on it on the roads of Better Place partner countries.

Images and video courtesy of Renault.

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Back to School for Web Workers

Mike Gunderloy — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 18:00:00 +0000

Although most of us on the web working front have been out of school for at least a few years, this is the time of year that it can pay off to pay attention to the student world. That’s because all of the big retailers are desperately trying to jump-start their fourth quarter sales with back-to-school promotions. Most of these aren’t really for web workers – I don’t know about you, but dropping a pile of money on the latest “must-have” college clothing doesn’t appeal to me – but there are a few out there that it’s worth knowing about.

When we’ve mentioned laptop bags in the past, RadTech has come up on our readers’ lists. Today only they’re having a 20% off sale on all laptop bags and sleeves, including ones with solar cells built in and the minimal NeoCase. They also sell the aluminum allow MacTruck heavy-duty case – worth a look if you’re hard on laptops.

If you’re the sort of web worker who admits to an office supply fetish, now’s the time to hit up the big retailers. Staples has a variety of back to school sales running, as does OfficeMax. Better yet, if you use PayPal to pay, OfficeMax is offering 20$ cash back up to $25.

Anyone who has shopped Dell knows that they always have some sort of special pricing going on – but for back-to-school, their laptop specials are pretty good. If you’ve been looking for a second machine, they have a low-end Inspiron for $499 at the moment.

Do you know about any other sales worth passing along?

photo credit: stock.xchng user woodsy

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Forum Activity: August 4, 2008

Josh Pigford — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:00:21 +0000

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Agassi, Convince Pickens Electric Vehicles Are the Way

Katie Fehrenbacher — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 01:00:08 +0000

Tom Friedman’s column in this Sunday’s New York Times advocates a meeting of the minds between two of the green energy revolution’s most well-known entrepreneurial leaders: Shai Agassi and T. Boone Pickens. As Earth2Tech readers likely know through our endless coverage of these two innovators, Agassi is leading the electric vehicle infrastructure startup Project Better Place and Pickens is the former oil billionaire turned wind wildcatter who has launched his Pickens Plan to help get the United States off its oil addiction.

No doubt, as Agassi writes on his blog this weekend, the two would have more than enough to chew on over breakfast. Agassi says: “I never met him [Pickens], but I am now very intrigued by the thought of seeing what happens when the two of us get together and think.” So are we.

But while the two share the same goals of getting countries to become less reliant on foreign oil — Pickens focusing on the United States, and Agassi starting first with Israel and Denmark — we would suspect they would have a few major points of contention. Namely, Pickens’s call for natural gas vehicles to provide a third of the U.S. transportation is somewhat at odds with Agassi’s attempts to build the electrification of the world’s transportation. Though there is room for more than one form of alternative cleaner transportation, the massive investment needed to build out the natural gas infrastructure could draw investment away from efforts to encourage the proliferation of electric vehicles.

And since we think electric vehicles are a far better long term alternative transportation plan, here’s what we would want from a sit down between Agassi and Pickens: Agassi, can you convince Pickens that electric vehicles are a better plan? We laud Pickens’s work on the world’s largest wind farm and investment into clean-generated electricity. And I think we can all agree that kicking the foreign oil habit is the end game. But let’s build out an infrastructure that is already in place — the power grid — to drive our vehicles. Agassi would probably put it a lot more eloquently than that, and perhaps, with all his successes thus far, could really drive home the point.

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Project Better Place Pitches British PM

Craig Rubens — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:18:44 +0000

Shai Agassi’s worldwide whirlwind tour pushing his Project Better Place electric car infrastructure startup shows no signs of stopping, now the Independent reports that the entrepreneur has even pitched his startup’s plan to British Primer Minister Gordon Brown. The PM is expected to ask auto manufacturers to make all new cars sold in the UK either electric or hybrid by 2020 when he attends the British International Motor Show this week. According to The Independent, Project Better Place’s tech is the most developed of several proposals the government is considering. Project Better Place declined to comment.

The UK market is larger than either Israel and Denmark, where Project Better Places has already inked deals. And Brown is serious about electrifying the British fleet. Speaking at the G-8 Summit at the start of July, Brown suggested a punitive tax to help reach his goal of getting the emissions of all cars below 100 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer by 2020. Such a tax would be very similar to the tax systems in Denmark and Israel that could make Project Better Place’s proposed electric cars financially attractive.

We’re still waiting for official word as to whether or not Project Better Place will move into Portugal, where its business partners Nissan-Renault recently signed an agreement to provide electric cars and charging infrastructure. Project Better Place was not named as part of the deal.

Stateside, the San Francisco’s mayor’s office tells us they are continuing their push to get the Bay Area to be the first U.S. region to electrify its cars. A spokesman for the mayor said that following discussions with Project Better Place, the startup is now conducting a feasibility study to see what is needed to bring their electric car scheme to the Bay Area. Meanwhile, Mayor Newsom is worried that Hawaii might beat him to the electric car punch.

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