Baran Group (TASE: BRAN; Pink Sheets:BRANF) unit Baran Engineering Ltd. is advanced talks to manage the battery replacement stations for electric car venture Better Place LLC. Better Place plans to deploy 50-70 battery replacement stations on Israel's traffic arteries in the coming years at a currently estimated cost of NIS 1.5-1.7 million per station, including the cost of the land.
Better Place will also build 30 battery replacement stations in Denmark, where the electric car venture is due to begin operations at the same time as in Israel.
The battery replacement stations will have a robotic facility that will automatically replace the batteries, a logistics network for the storage of full batteries and the rapid recharging of depleted batteries, and various communications and support systems. Some of the stations will be located at gas stations, and others on independent lots.
Baran's share of the project is not yet known, and a separate contractor will apparently install the robotic systems, while Baran will be responsible for the engineering side.
Renault SA (Euronext: RNO) revealed at a recent investors conference that, in addition to the Fluence ZE, which has already been unveiled, it intends to equip another model with the rapid battery replacement system it jointly developed with Better Place: the urban car Zoe, production of which will begin in France in 2012. The Zoe will be about the same size as the Renault Cleo, and is designed for customers who normally make short trips within cities. The Zoe will be equipped with an advanced ignition system based on a touch screen and icons that resemble the iPad and similar devices.
At the investors conference, Renault also disclosed that it had received 3,000 advance orders for the Fluence in Israel by mid-June.
The vehicle fleet of Better Place shareholder Israel Corporation (TASE: ILCO) and its subsidiaries, including Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (Nasdaq: TSEM; TASE: TSEM), Oil Refineries Ltd. (TASE:ORL), Israel Chemicals Ltd. (TASE: ICL), and Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd., is estimated at 1,600 cars, which are currently managed through three leasing companies. Industry sources believe that these three companies will be among the first targets for the electric cars when they become available for mass delivery in late 2011. Tower has already announced that it intends to switch to electric cars when they become available. This company alone has about 500 cars.
Better Place said in response, "The figures prove the rising demand for electric cars in Israel as well as around the world. More than 3,000 private customers have already registered to place orders at the visitors' center. The battery replacement technology is the only solution in the world today that deals with the limited travel range of electric cars, and enables safe travel over long distances. The battery replacement solution is due to have several additional versions that will reach Israel in the coming year and are undergoing testing in several countries. As for our agreements with companies in Israel and other countries, the company does not disclose details about these processes."
Baran said in response, "A public company does not respond to reports about its business activity."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 29, 2010
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