Shai Agassi: The Israeli T. Boone Pickens?
Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens has received a glut of media attention recently for his plan to develop the largest wind power project in the world. Now the New York Times suggests that Pickens might have a visionary counterpart in Shai Agassi, an Israeli software entrepreneur obsessed with making Israel the world leader in electric cars.
Agassi, along with his company Better Place, have an Israeli government-backed plan to create an electric car program that will give subscribers access to a car, a battery, and outlets across Israel. Subscribers will also be able to swap dead batteries for fresh ones in designated garages.
Better Place will run the smart grid that charges the electric cars. The company is also currently contracting for enough solar energy energy to power the whole fleet, which will roll out next year with 500 cars built by Renault.
But Agassi’s vision doesn’t end with Israeli electric cars.
The entrepreneur has also pitched his ideas to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who plans to ask auto manufacturers to make all new cars sold in the UK either electric or hybrid by 2020. The Better Place subscriber model is being strongly considered by the PM.
With plans to expand even further into Denmark and possibly Portugal, rest assured that you’ll be hearing Agassi’s name frequently in the near future.
Posts Related to Alternative Energy Plans:
- World’s First Commercial-Scale Tidal Power Turbine Begins Feeding Electricity to the Grid
- Texas To Build Wind Power Superhighway
- Missouri Town Powered Fully By Wind
Photo Credit: Better Place
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