{"id":1078,"date":"2009-01-15T19:10:13","date_gmt":"2009-01-15T19:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ietransfer.wpengine.com\/?p=1078"},"modified":"2009-01-15T19:10:13","modified_gmt":"2009-01-15T19:10:13","slug":"electric-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inspiredeconomist.com\/articles\/electric-innovation\/","title":{"rendered":"Electric Innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BetterChanging consumer behavior can be a slow painful process.\u00a0 Not only does it require educational efforts but often widespread systemic conformity is required. However innovation has radically altered some of our most fundamental behaviors.<\/h3>\n

Globally, we now access cash from a machine and we carry and use mobile phones for a significant percentage of our calling.\u00a0 Its this type of basic change that will be required to have significant impact on socially and environmentally responsible consumption habits.<\/p>\n

Shai Agassi<\/a> has just such aspirations.\u00a0 The electric car<\/a> has been the talk of the town<\/a> at the Detroit auto show this year but Shai’s concept is the most intriguing and well thought out.\u00a0 In this week\u2019s Newsweek, Fareed Zakaria<\/a> talks to Shai about his idea for a Better Place<\/a> in \u201cSwitched-On Highways\u201d<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Shai does exactly what is necessary for radical innovation \u2013 he flips the approach.\u00a0 Instead of framing the problem as \u201chow to build a better car\u201d, he frames it as \u201chow to run a country without oil\u201d.\u00a0 He takes an ambitious approach that looks at both the infrastructure, the model of ownership and of course, the power source.<\/p>\n

Return to electricity<\/h3>\n

Even with oil returning to under $50 a barrel, Shai\u2019s new model is betting on the electric car to remove our dependency and make the switch to clean electricity.\u00a0 With the required infrastructure in place, the cost ends up somewhere between six and eight cents per mile which is motivation in and of itself, even if oil got down to $25 a barrel.<\/p>\n

The razor model<\/h3>\n

Taking a page from the razor, printer and video game model, he has also separated the car from its core function \u2013 the electric battery.\u00a0\u00a0 A truly radical idea when it comes to car ownership but one that makes a lot of sense.\u00a0\u00a0 The basis for this is the need to re-charge batteries after they drain all of their power.\u00a0 This drops the price of the car and its operation even further and makes acquisition a lot more appealing.<\/p>\n

Leveraging existing behavior<\/h3>\n

But what\u2019s important about this model is that it leverages our existing and well-established behavior of stopping at the \u201cgas\u201d station.\u00a0 For long haul driving \u2013 or even for convenience during a normal day of driving \u2013 it doesn\u2019t make sense to have to stop and re-charge an electric battery when it\u2019s run out of its juice.\u00a0 So, Shai proposes switching stations where you just pick up a fully charged battery.<\/p>\n

There are flaws in this model but radical innovation generally doesn\u2019t happen perfectly the first time.\u00a0 What is exciting about the Better Place concept is that it addresses consumer behavior<\/a> from the get-go.\u00a0\u00a0 Plugging an electric car into your own garage sounds exciting but offering a car at a reduced price with the \u201cbenefit\u201d of a switching station somehow puts the consumer at ease simply by offering them the comfort of a long-held tradition. Eventually we\u2019ll get to fully plugged in at-home cars (cuz after all we all hate to stop at the gas station), but first Shai has to get them to buy the cars.<\/p>\n

And the really exciting thing….California is already set to begin adoption<\/a> of a Better Place this year!<\/p>\n

Image Credit: Better Place logo by techpulse360 on Creative Commons<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Changing consumer behavior can be a slow painful process. Not only does it require educational efforts but often widespread systemic conformity is required. However innovation has radically altered some of our most fundamental behaviors. Globally, we now access cash from a machine and we carry and use mobile phones for a significant percentage of our calling. Its this type of basic change that will be required to have significant impact on socially and environmentally responsible consumption habits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":8894,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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Not only does it require educational efforts but often widespread systemic conformity is required. However innovation has radically altered some of our most fundamental behaviors. 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