Project Better Place, an Israeli venture focusing on electric cars is
raising an initial sum of $200 million.
The list of investors in Project Better Place includes Israel Corp., Morgan
Stanley, VantagePoint Venture Partners, and private investors James
Wolfensohn, Edgar Bronfman Sr. and Musea Ventures.
The head of the venture is Shai Agassi, formerly president of SAP's product
and technology group. Agassi left SAP (officially in early April) and said
he wished to focus on "green" issues. Agassi's aim is to help Israel end its
dependence on oil within 10 years, and the creation of an electric vehicle
industry would support that aim. The venture received the official support
of the Israeli government, but is not receiving any public funds.
According to reports, the venture is in talks with companies like France's
Renault SA, and car makers in China, Japan and elsewhere in Europe.
Agassi suggests there will be one million electric cars in a few years'
time in Israel alone.
The venture will focus on building out an infrastructure of
battery-charging stations for electric vehicles. The comparative model
offered is that of mobile phone companies building out the mobile
infrastructure. The aim is to cooperate with car and battery markers in a
way that subscribers to the electric car network will get subsidized cars,
but will still own their vehicles.
Executives at Project Better Place claim that the electricity per one
electric car will only cost about $175 a year, although many experts in
Israel are skeptical about this low figure.