Renault teaming up with Project Better Place to help build electric car future for Israel

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Israel is looking to become independent of oil by 2020, and with the help of California-based Project Better Place and Renault-Nissan, it just may get there. Drawing on the combined efforts of Renault, the government of Israel, and Project Better Place, the goal is to realize the dream of making electric cars a more common sight in Israel than cars relying on $6-a-gallon gas.

Renault's electric cars, which will reportedly be available to the Israeli public in 2011, run purely on electricity and supposedly deliver performance on par with a 1.6-liter gas engine. The cars will come with lithium-ion batteries for extended range. According to Project Better Place, electric cars are well-suited to Israel because 90 percent of Israeli car owners drive less than 43.5 miles (70 kilometers) a day and major urban centers are less than about 93 miles (150 kilometers) away.

Unlike the current ethanol situation here in the United States, infrastructure is a central part of this ambitious plan. While Renault will supply the cars, Project Better Place will arrange for the installation of 500,000 charging spots in Israel. Electric car owners will pay for the energy they use based on how many kilometers they drive.

With about $200 million already raised, Project Better Place is confident a financially-solid business model can be made, claiming that in 2020, fueling a gas-powered car for just one year will cost more than charging an electric car for its entire life. It also helps that the Israeli government will offer a tax incentive on any zero-emission vehicle until 2019.

For more information on Project Better Place, go to their Web site at: projectbetterplace.com.

We hope the idea put together by Renault and Project Better Place is realized eventually, but know that a lot can change in three years of development on an electric car project--just ask Tesla.