Agassi’s Electric Car Grid

by on 2010/06/27


Wired Editor-in-Chief Chris Anderson interviews Shai Agassi. Agassi is reimagining the entire automotive ecosystem by proposing a new concept called the Electric Recharge Grid Operator.

{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }

longhairedartist June 27, 2010 at 1:59 AM

What if instead of investing in research for 300 mile range batteries or battery switching stations we 1. embed induction technology into HOV-EV lanes 2. invest in electric bullet rail systems that will also carry in freight your small vehicle 4 times interstate speeds… get thru an airport check in at under an hour lately? i mean these are things you can’t hand over to an individual to solve on their own, this is the kind of support we need from our govt.

dektronic07 June 27, 2010 at 2:01 AM

This is the furture. Oil cannot and will not last forever- it is a nonrenewable resource- and what’s left of the oil will just become more and more expensive as it becomes harder and harder to get at (we are running out of “Easy” Oil) and there is an parabolically-increasing demand for a nearly flat supply…

Adventurestud June 27, 2010 at 3:00 AM

It’s amazing. The 28 second commercial took no time to load and played with no lag at all but the 28 minute content stalled every 5 seconds. WTF?! No thanks.

Bill25cycle June 27, 2010 at 3:41 AM

That’s why I want no part of a ‘Smart Grid’. The AGW crowd will find out when you run your clothes dryer or dishwasher and TAX you for your ‘inefficient usage’.

I love it when the EPA says that PLANT FOOD CO2 is ‘a dangerous pollutant’, but says a little bit of CYANIDE, is o.k.

cecilbdml June 27, 2010 at 4:00 AM

I would simplify it further:

Don’t expect any of this to happen if someone else is providing your power. Use what’s available to you locally (hydro, natural gas generator, whatever) and power your OWN home and car. No need for a grid for homes, and less control over what you do in them.

Or wait for these jokers to work with Congress to put remote controls on your home to turn it off when they see fit. No thanks.

cecilbdml June 27, 2010 at 4:56 AM

Huh? They capitulated and weren’t as conservative, and lost seats. Apparently that’s the part of their image they hurt…listening to advice such as yours.

The message SHOULD be: All those subsidies for green energy? Send them back to the American Taxpayer, and let US figure it out. And this is the future as much as unicorns and perpetual motion engines.

prst99 June 27, 2010 at 5:42 AM

Why don’t we let Better Place follow their current timetable? They are still a small, new company that has to learn the business. After they learn how, they will be able to scale larger and faster. A problem this size needs manageable timetables and capability development.

r4nd0mn4me June 27, 2010 at 6:26 AM

He is right though. That is VERY basic robotics. I work with robots and if a robot can place a 3 gram part with in a few thousandths of a millimeter of where you want it, it sure as hell can place a big battery in the bay under your car.

WhatFEDnotesARE June 27, 2010 at 6:54 AM

Regarding the “Agassi’s Electric Car Grid” interview you should do one with ThyseenKrupp engineers that developed the battery pack recharge & exchange station for EVs. Its faster than filling up 10 gallons or more of traditional fuel.

hellomate639 June 27, 2010 at 7:36 AM

Lets do something about it and start OSWH: Operation Spam the White House

Tell everyone you know to send a message to the White House because you can indeed contact them on their website and contact them without emailing them. The title should be uniform: Electric Infrastructure Now.

I can’t do much, but I can tell someone who can do something about it to do a lot. Spread the word of this project around. It needs to happen.

Or tell the Republicans that its the way to save their image…

o10ciano June 27, 2010 at 8:01 AM

its UNWISE to stop the “massive disruption” of the carbon economy.

ludwigious June 27, 2010 at 8:06 AM

vandalism at the charging spots would be at LEAST handled the same way as vandalism at a gas station. At MOST it will be handled the same way that vandalism/tampering cell phone towers is handled (shooting on sight).

edstar83 June 27, 2010 at 9:06 AM

Im already in the process of converting a car to electric. im not waiting for the big boys otherwise we’ll be wating for ever.

Adventurestud June 27, 2010 at 10:02 AM

It’s refreshing to see Shai still at it and making progress with Project Better Place. It would be tragic if none of our American car companies see the future and go electric. Oh well, if they don’t someone else will. Let’s just hope it’s not just the Chinese or some other country who takes advantage of this amazing and world changing opportunity.

alexandercraig June 27, 2010 at 10:07 AM

This is what we need. Good luck to all that are involved.

RN0909 June 27, 2010 at 11:00 AM

this is amazing…i cannot wait until it comes to fruition

wullebulle123 June 27, 2010 at 11:46 AM

what about the problem of vandalism at the charging spots or the exchange stations?

RockOnHakan June 27, 2010 at 11:57 AM

its a good idea but I’m pretty sure that they thought of the easiest way and thought that was it

Bill25cycle June 27, 2010 at 12:15 PM

Talk about complicating things needlessly, this ‘problem’ is trivially easier to solve than these guys think:
1). Since power plants just ‘idle away’ from midnight to seven a.m, if people recharge their cars then, it will vastly increase the efficiency of EXISTING infrastructure, and overall, lower people’s rates.
2). The HUGE TECHNOLOGY required to accomplish this great feat is a $8 timer at K-mart to recharge when rates are cheap. People will do this if u give them a 20% discount @night.

cartridgeboxers June 27, 2010 at 12:21 PM

I REALLY hope this works!!

trevnap08 June 27, 2010 at 1:16 PM

To get everyone to see this we will need everyone to post it to their facebooks/myspace pages so that word will spread! If it reaches the ears and eyes of our political leaders idk how much they can help, but its a great idea to get the idea out there!

Tektra June 27, 2010 at 2:03 PM

the leaders of China and America really need to see this.

Nichen June 27, 2010 at 2:53 PM

Very interesting!

strictlysega June 27, 2010 at 2:53 PM

fingers crossed

Bob06460 June 27, 2010 at 3:07 PM

really exciting stuff

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