Better Place Plugs First Charge Spot to Electric Car

Better Place Plugs First Charge Spot to Electric Car

Better Place Unveils Design and Deployment of Charging Spot and Electric Parking Lots in Israel

Moshe Kaplinsky, CEO of Better Place Israel: “This is another stage in the fulfillment of the electric vehicle vision. By the end of this year, we will install approximately 800 charging spots within the pilot.”

TEL AVIV, Israel - Dec 8, 2008 - Better Place Israel, which is deploying the world’s first nationwide network for charging electric vehicles, today demonstrated for the first time its charging spot plugged in and charging an electric car in Israel. The company unveiled its first plugged in parking lots as well as the charging spot design that will be used in deployments around the world.

Better Place Israel CEO Moshe Kaplinsky displayed the first electric parking lot in Israel today at the Cinema City parking lot in Pi-Glilot. He showcased the charging spots and the charging process of the electric vehicle. Several months ago, the company announced the beginning of the pilot planning in Israel that will constitute the first deployment for the Better Place infrastructure in the world.

The company started the network deployment pilot in Israel with several municipalities including Tel Aviv, Haifa, Kefar Sava, Holon, and Jerusalem, and it plans to continue to deploy the network in public places in these cities.

With the pilot, the company has signed an agreement with "Ahuzat Hof's" parking lots while it also simultaneously finished infrastructure deployment in other areas including the Bazel parking lot, Europe house, Axelrod and the IBM corporate campus.

In every parking lot, charging spot infrastructure has been planned and implemented. The deployment included production planning of electricity board installation and deployment of electric cables from the board to the charging spot, with emphasize on safety, quality and the electric network reliability.

The charging spot is part of the Better Place electric car charging infrastructure. The Better Place infrastructure includes charging spots, battery exchange stations and a service control center that plans the energy consumption of the car and the whole system.

The Better Place charging spots have been developed in Israel with the cooperation of "Nekuda D.M designing and technology Israel". During the development of the charging spot, Better Place evaluated a number of strategic criteria including: safety, user experience, mass deployment ability, maintenance, cost, and the need to blend the charging spot with the urban view.

The charging spot that has been developed in Israel, complies with international standards and is destined to be deployed in Israel, Denmark, Australia, Californian, Hawaii and in other countries where Better Place will deploy its infrastructure.

The Better Place charging spot has been designed by San Francisco-based strategic design agency, “New Deal Design.” The charge spot is designed to be compact and to blend in with the environment. It includes a friendly connector that has been developed and designed by Better Place. It complies with the international standards and is characterized in a material that helps the connection act to be accessible and convenient to use.

Tal Agassi, director of infrastructure products and international deployment development for Better Place, said: “In designing and deploying the charge spot, our top priority is the driver’s experience. We set out to design a user friendly and simple charging experience for the user that will encourage drivers to switch from the pump to the plug.”

In every electric car on the network, Better Place will install its operating system, which serves as the intelligence for the car and the network. The system centralizes the energy consumption of the car and helps the driver to plan an intelligent destination path so that the car always has enough power and more to get to and from a destination.

The Better Place software in the car is connected to the service control center, which is designed to provide information and solutions for driving destinations in real time. The control center centralizes the energy consumption, regulates the different demands, and produces an energy consumption plan that is fitted to each car.

Better Place Israel CEO Moshe Kaplinsky said, “The progress of the company in the implementation of this project is the proof that the vision of the transition to a mass use of electric vehicles is becoming reality. Today marks a significant milestone in the process and it is happening in Israel.”

“We are glad for the cooperation with the ministries, the municipalities, the electric company, the owners of the parking lots and large corporate companies. This cooperation derives from the fact that the economic, environmental and national importance of moving to electric vehicles and off oil-based transportation is being widely recognized in Israel and around the world.”

About Better Place

Better Place is a mobility operator that aims to reduce oil dependence by delivering personal transportation as a sustainable service. Launched in 2007 with $200 million of venture funding, the company builds electric-vehicle networks powered by renewable energy to give consumers an affordable, sustainable alternative for personal mobility. Better Place is working with partners to build its first standards-based networks in Israel, Denmark, Australia and California. Better Place will activate networks on a country-by-country basis with initial deployments beginning in 2010.



Contacts Debby CommunicationsAya Achimeir+972-52-8748746/ +972-3-5683000aya@debby.co.il