Battery switch station design ca. 2008

Charge spot with demo charge plug

Demo Plug ca. 2008

Welcome screen

Better Place charge spots in the snow

Renault Fluence ZE Concept

The Renault Fluence ZE interior

t’s been a long time coming for the electric car, and as Europe rushes to solidify their plan of action for the move away from oil, many nations’ eyes are fixed on Denmark. Better Place, a California start-up, has teamed up with Denmark’s major power company to create the first major electric grid to support electric cars. This is a huge venture, and not without its risks, but Better Place has secured 350 million to start the project and everything’s a go at this point. Money however, might not be the major obstacle in the way of success for this project.

As if we needed another example of how design can change the world, the main roadblock (pun intended) is the lack of unity in a standard system of getting the electricity to the cars in a fashion that resembles the soon-to-be old fashioned gas station. Are battery swapping stations more feasible than pump-style plugs? What if a Russian car drives to France? Will the plug fit the socket? Do you have Russian car batteries in Germany? With car companies, power plants and even governments weighing in on the subject, it’s the lack of global unity here that’s going to factor heavily on the creation of a cohesive plan of action.

Denmark is already getting 19% of their electricity from wind power and the proposed electric grid will tie in with it. The electricity you would charge your car with would come from it, but even better, your car becomes a storage chamber and once plugged in at night can feed the excess back to the main grid — even at a profit to you possibly. Of course the kinks need to get worked out, but essentially you’d have a system where thousands of cars could store the excess power generated from wind power and feed it back into the main grid at night in order to replenish the necessary levels needed  during peak usage, thus reducing the cost of transportation practically down to the cost of running the powering stations. Huge tax credits and free parking are also in the works for potential buyers of electric cars to kick start interest.

Back in the US, the hybrid car seems to be more important to manufacturers than we might have previously thought judging by the North American International Auto Show. And I have to say, everything there looked a lot better than the awful box on wheels designs coming out of Europe right now. I mean, come on. If you’re going to make something that small and unsafe, at least make it look cool. America however, is still at the hybrid stage for the most part, but at least can still be  packaged in somewhat of a decent looking car. And yes, as far as design is concerned, Japan shreds everyone, of course.

But getting back to the purpose of it all, Denmark, no matter what their future cars might end up looking like, could be the prototype for the future. Germany and its solar power program is another prime example of a green success story that other nations are taking note of. In America, it’s ironically the Chevy Volt that might tip us over into a viable solar and wind power system–ironic because in the late 30s, GM bought and dismantled the existing electric streetcar system in order to sell gasoline engine driven buses and were basically caught red handed. However, even I have to root for the Volt’s success. So however late to the game America and other nations are, here’s hoping Denmark can set yet another example of utilizing a sustainable energy source.