The greatest barriers to a wider spread of electric vehicles are still the high acquisition costs and the not yet fully developed recharging infrastructure. Better Place proposes a solution to the cost problem while equally working on expanding the infrastructure.

Better Place, based in Palo Alto, California, counts on electric vehicles (EVs) becoming available for less than $20,000 as soon as 2012 – and that without any tax incentives applied yet. The plan is simple: take the most expensive variable, namely the battery, out of the equation, i.e. sell the EV but keep the battery.

Swap instead of charge

Better Place intends to become a mileage dealer for electric vehicles by offering a network of home charging stations and robotic swapping stations. The consumer buying an electric vehicle signs a contract with Better Place and basically pays the company for the electricity and service to recharge the battery or easily exchange it against a fresh one in a robotic battery swap station.

Real-life testing in Tokyo

Beginning this year, Better Place is testing the everyday usability of its battery swap stations in collaboration with Tokyo’s largest taxi operator Nihon Kotsu, who runs four completely electric taxis. The pilot project was commissioned by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry after a successful battery switch demonstration by Better Place in Yokohama last year.