Israel Railways Teams Up With Better Place To Refuel Electric Car Commuters

 Refueling newly developed electric cars in Israel may be one step closer to being commonplace with an agreement reached between Israel Railways and the Better Place electric car and energy terminal company.  

Better Place, which we’ve covered in depth currently in the process of developing practical electric powered cars, as well as recharging stations for them, has agreed to install up to 220 charging terminals in railway parking lots in a number of stations. They are Bat Galim, Central Haifa, Acre, Beit Yehoshua, Herzliya, Hod Hasharon, Rosh Ha’ayin, Petah Tikva Segula, Kiryat Arie Petah Tikva, Bnei Brak, and Pe’atei Modi’in.

Get your electric engines roaring? The agreement was reached by Yitzhak Harel, director -general of Israel Railways,  and Moshe Kaplinsky, CEO of Better Place. The terms of the agreement will mean that Better Place will construct the “charging posts” in designated sections of the train station parking areas, so railway commuters can charge up their electric powered vehicles while they are traveling to and from various locations by train.

Special signs will be erected to instruct car owners how to use the charging stands, which will be available for the hundreds – if not thousands of all electric vehicles that are hoped to be available to people within the next two years.

Israel Railroad director Harel was quoted as saying that the train works as an “economic growth stimulator,” and he added “it contributes to improving the quality of life by charging thousands of cars that drive along Israel’s roads and eliminating airborne vehicle pollutants.”

Better Place began operations in 2007 and has been featured in previous Green Prophet articles, including one on May 14, 2009 as Better Place Tests Battery Replacement Technology in Japan. In this article, an experimental electric battery replacement station was being tested in Japan.

Another article also notes that electric cars are expected to be driven in large quantities world by the year 2030.

The actual use of these recharging stations won’t be a reality for a few years, since virtually no total electric cars are presently available in Israel. Several thousand electric-gasoline hybrids (with dynamos) are being driven though; but they still utilize gasoline for more than 80% of their total distance usage, with electric motors only being used for in-town driving or on clogged motorways (electric motors are designed to power cars up to a maximum speed of 40 km per hour).

But any start is good start. And we like how Better Place targeted the commuter audience. And companies like Teva. Smart marketing move.