On January 15th, 2009, Better Place electric cars announced a partnership with the government of Ontario, which aims to bring its electric car network to Ontario. This will mark the first such agreement for Better Place in Canada.
Better Place works on the idea of having an electrical vehicle network. The cars can be charged at home or at "charging spots", which keep the car topped up to 100 miles of driving energy. The driver pays for the power with a subscription plan which covers the use of battery stations and charge spots.
When trips are longer than 100 miles, the goal is to have battery switching stations available. Instead of waiting for the car to charge, the old battery would be quickly and automatically replaced with a new, charged battery instead.
Better Place has partnered with Bullfrog Power, which will apparently be providing power for the network. Bullfrog Power provides "green, carbon-free" power in Ontario.
A study is due to be released by the Government of Ontario in May of 2009 which will look at ways to speed up the introduction of electric vehicles in the province. During this time, Better Place will be planning a timeline for rolling out its services. As of this writing, there is no timeline for having "shovels in the ground" for the network.
This news follows on December's announcement that low-speed electrical vehicles like the Zenn car will be permitted on a limited basis in Ontario. It would appear that the government is serious about moving forward with electric vehicles in the province.
Better Place estimates that for every 10,000 electric vehicles on the road, over 40,000 tons of carbon dioxide will be offset annually.
References:
Photo by Better Place
