Word: agassi
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...idea to take Israel electric was born in a white paper that Agassi, an Israeli native who now lives in the United States, wrote as part of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders forum. Peres was impressed and encouraged Agassi to pursue the project as a stand-alone business, helping to introduce the software-industry executive to auto executives, including Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault-Nissan. The Japanese-French auto alliance has separately said that it will manufacture a hybrid by 2010 and an all-electric...
...Electric cars, which have existed for more than 100 years, are becoming all the rage - both GM and Toyota have said they will manufacture plug-in hybrids by 2010. But Agassi's plan stands out because it focuses on the infrastructure for recharging cars instead of on the vehicles themselves...
...Battery technology has advanced markedly in the past few years, yet an electrically powered family-style car still can't go much farther than 100 miles on a charge, and once a battery is drained it takes hours to power back up. Agassi's solution: take the battery out of the car and make it part of the infrastructure. Agassi was being shown a battery at Tesla Motors, a California-based company developing its own electric car, when the thought struck him. "I'm looking at this thing," says Agassi, "and I'm thinking, 'Oh, I get it. This...
...practice, that means consumers will buy cars from Renault-Nissan, then subscribe to a Better Place service that includes use of a battery and electricity from charging stations. The business model, Agassi says, is similar to how a mobile phone company sells airtime. Agassi figures that if he adds electrical outlets to at least 500,000 of Israel's three to four million parking spots, people will feel like they can charge their cars whenever they need to. Since most people seldom drive more than 100 miles at a time, wiring workplaces and public spaces like shopping malls should keep...
...Even though full implementation is years away and not everyone is convinced the plan will work - Israel's chief scientist says the plan is heavy on ideas but light on R&D and existing technology - the idea has already sparked interest elsewhere. Agassi says he is speaking to 15 other countries, many of which, like Israel, relish the idea of reducing their dependency on the world's oil-producing nations. Idan Ofer, chairman of Israel Corp., the Tel Aviv-based industrials conglomerate that provided Better Place with half of its $200 million funding, has his sights set on China. Israel...