2011-02-12

EVENT REVIEW: BRITISH ISRAELI BUSINESS AWARD

By Anne McIvor

Shai Agassi, founder of electric vehicle  (EV) infrastructure company Better Place, was an inspirational speaker at The British Israeli Business Awards dinner, organised by the British-Israel Chamber of Commerce in London on 8 February 2011. Israel plays a key role in the Better Place project and President Shimon Perez arranged the meeting between Agassi and Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault and Nissan, at Davos, which led to Renault’s association with Better Place. The links between Israel and Better Place are documented in ‘Start-Up Nation’, a book by Dan Senor and Saul Singer describing Israel’s ‘economic miracle’. Although the story is almost folklore in the electric vehicle industry, many in the room were not familiar with it. Jaws dropped as Agassi related how he set out to address the problem of oil and convinced investors to back one of the most well funded private companies in history.

Agassi claims to have solved two problems traditionally associated with EVs. First is cost: under the Better Place model the car owner doesn’t own the battery, one of the most expensive components. Second is convenience: Better Place will run battery exchange stations, eliminating the time needed for recharging.

Better Place has deployed many contributions from the Israeli technology industry in its fast battery exchange equipment. But Israel’s commitment to EVs has extended far beyond its contribution to technology. The nation looks set to lead the world in the switch away from gasoline. For example, the tax on an EV in Israel is just 10%, compared to 72% for a gasoline car.

Long term visibility on transport policy, crucial for Better Place, exists in Israel, as it does in Denmark, another country which is embracing the Better Place concept. During a private chat with Agassi before the dinner, he observed that London Mayor Boris Johnson had wanted to roll out a Better Place infrastructure – but that there is no budget in the UK. Agassi must have been hoping that the other keynote speaker at the dinner, UK Government Minister David Willetts, was taking notes.

According to Agassi, the cost of installing a Better Place style infrastructure in the UK would be around £1 billion, about the equivalent of what the UK spends on gasoline in one week. In Israel, the investment to roll out the Better Place infrastructure amounts to even less than one week of gasoline. Based on these calculations, he argues, a country which debates for more than a week loses money.

Agassi expects the tipping point for EVs to be much sooner than most other forecasts. In Israel specifically, he anticipates that by 2015/2016 the majority of all new cars sold will be electric.

During the dinner, Sammy Ofer KBE was awarded the Israel Sieff Lifetime Achievement Award, accepted on his behalf by his grandchildren. Idan Ofer, Sammy’s son, was in fact an early investor in Better Place – one whom Agassi described as having invested “with his heart”.

Water technology is another cleantech industry in which Israel has much expertise. The Award for Israeli Company of the Year was presented to ARAD Water Technology – which last year signed a £36 million contract with UK company Southern Water.

David Willetts, UK Minister of State for Universities and Science, emphasised the strength of Israel’s technology research base – and the potential for co-operation between the UK and Israel.

The UK may not be adopting the Better Place model, it is playing a major role in the project. UK investors, led by HSBC, backed the company's $350 million funding round in 2010. Agassi is convinced that batteries and electrons will replace oil. He’s not entirely joking when he refers to Better Place as “the other BP”, and believes passionately that his company will make the world a ‘better place’. We’ll be watching closely as the first cars equipped for battery exchange enter Israel later this year.