Denmark’s DONG Energy and Silicon Valley-based Project Better Place are planning to introduce a fleet of electric cars to the Danish public after building about 20,000 recharging stations in the country.
Better Place Denmark hopes to introduce the cars by 2011, by which time it expects to have the charging stations available in parking lots and outside homes.
"With this project, we hope to contribute substantially to reducing CO2 emissions from Danish cars. At the same time, we will achieve a new way of storing the unstable electricity output from wind turbines, as EVs are typically charged during the night, when the exploitation of power generation is low. This provides optimum exploitation of our resources for the benefit of the environment," says Anders Eldrup, CEO of DONG Energy.
Through the Project Better Place and Renault-Nissan Alliance partnership announced last January, Renault will provide Better Place Denmark with the electric vehicles, thus achieving the objective of zero emissions while at the same time offering driving performances similar to a gasoline engine. Nissan, through its joint venture with NEC of Japan, has created an advanced lithium-ion battery pack that meets the requirements of the electric vehicle and will be mass-produced, Project Better Place said.
Shai Agassi, CEO and founder, Project Better Place, said, "Existing technology, combined with our unique business model and scaleable infrastructure will provide a financially viable solution to significantly decrease CO2 emissions."
The battery powered vehicles will drive a maximum of 150 kilometers (90 miles) before recharging, Agassi said, and he expects the network to expand to other European countries soon.
"We’re in discussion with 30 countries – Europe, America and Asian nations," he told The Associated Press after a news conference in Copenhagen.
A similar network is being built in Israel.
Read more SustainableBusiness.com coverage on Project Better Place.
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