The above video is a computer simulation of the Project Better Place battery exchange stations and parking lots. It's the same video shown in the background as Shai Agassi, the company's founder and CEO, explained the idea of the company on CNBC yesterday. Project Better Place wants to build a network of refueling points for electric car making electric cars as easy to re-fuel as gas cars. In the presentation launching the company, Shai said it was the "historic mistake" of the electric car industry not focusing on a re-fueling network.

The big test of Shai's model is whether or not major automakers will sign on to his systems and standards. Project Better Place is talking to 5 automakers that Shai won't name but he promises road tests early in 2008. Shai said the tests will be in places where electric car ranges make a lot of sense because they are land-locked for geographical or cultural reasons. A slide in his presentation, which is also below the fold, included Germany, Japan, London, Hawaii and Israel but other countries were mentioned as well.

It's very early and a system like this has never been tried before but I think this company is one to watch.

[Source: Project Better Place]