Israel's electric car will cut oil needs
Published: January 24, 2008
On Jan. 21 the Israeli government announced its support of an ambitious plan
to install the world's first electric car network in Israel by 2011. The
initiative is aimed at addressing global dependence on foreign oil from
undemocratic regimes and mitigating the health and environmental damages
caused by emissions from gas-burning vehicles.
"Today is a new age with new dangers and the greatest danger is that of oil.
It is the greatest polluter of our age and oil is the greatest financier of
terror," said Israeli President Shimon Peres.
In a joint venture, Project Better Place, owned by Israeli-American
entrepreneur Shai Agassi, will provide lithium-ion batteries and the
infrastructure to refresh or replace them, while Renault and Nissan will
build the cars. With the goal of making Israel a laboratory test for a new
model of environmentally efficient transportation, Israel will offer tax
incentives to purchasers.
The innovative model, developed by Agassi, would provide consumers with
inexpensive cars, and they would pay a monthly fee for expected mileage,
like minutes on a cell phone plan. Project Better Place will provide
infrastructure including parking meter-like plugs on city streets or service
stations along highways at which batteries can be replaced.
Peres, who was first exposed to Agassi's idea at a 2006 meeting of the
Brookings Institution's Saban Forum, strongly promoted Israel's involvement.
"Oil is becoming the greatest problem of our time," he said. Not only
polluting, but "it also supports terror and violence from Venezuela to
Iran."
Idan Ofer, chairman of Tel Aviv-based industrials conglomerate Israel Corp.,
provided the initiative and half of its $200 million funding. Building on
the idea of Israel as an experimental laboratory for environmental
technology, Ofer has begun targeting China and India, two countries with
burgeoning oil consumption and attendant environmental hazards.
Ofer said that if Agassi's plan works in Israel, "it will work even better
in China. Their pollution is killing them and the rest of us, too." And in
Mumbai, he said, "you can't even see the sky."
Israel's noted innovations in energy technology may also be utilized in
generating "green" electricity for the project, specifically a plan
involving the Negev desert, huge mirrors and solar energy in development by
professor David Faiman of Ben-Gurion University in southern Israel.
Israel's efforts to contribute environmental technologies also recently
culminated in the passage of the American-Israeli joint energy research
bill, signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush in December 2007.
Speaking when the bill first passed in the House of Representatives, Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert emphasized that "both our countries share a
desire for energy security and prevention of global warming."
Israel has been on the forefront of developing alternative energy technology
and is a significant center for alternative energy research and development.
More than 200 Israeli firms have so far developed environmental or
energy-related technology.
Israeli companies have been working to provide alternative energy in the
United States for decades. From 1984 to 1991, Israeli technology built nine
solar plants in southern California. The plants are still operational today,
eliminating the need for nearly 2 million barrels of oil each year and
providing electricity to millions of Americans. Today, an American and
Israeli company are working together in Nevada to build the largest solar
power plant since 1992.
Europe has already begun working with Israel on alternative energy research.
On June 9, 2007, German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel pledged nearly
$2.2 million from his ministry to four separate German-Israeli alternative
energy projects.
Israel's alternative energy expertise includes seven universities that
produce a higher number of engineers and scientists per capita than any
other nation. The country also has 67.5 square meters of solar collectors
per 100 people, the highest per-capita rate of solar collectors in the
world.
Additionally, Israel and the Unites States have a long tradition of working
together to advance science. Those programs, which have led to many
technological breakthroughs ranging from scientific theory to disease
control and pesticide reduction, include:
• The U.S.- Israel Binational Science Foundation. The foundation has
provided more than 3,000 grants to institutions in both America and Israel;
• The U.S.- Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund;
• The U.S.- Israel Binational Industrial Research and Development
Foundation.
Copyright © 2007 News World Communications Inc.
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