The Renault EVs will be equipped with lithium-ion batteries produced by the joint venture of Nissan Motor, NEC Corporation, and NEC TOKIN Corporation—Automotive Energy Supply Corporation (AESC)—formed in 2007. (Earlier post.) The EVs will offer driving performance similar to a 1.6-liter gasoline engine, according to the company.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance / Project Better Place model will separate ownership of the car from the requirement to own a battery. Consumers will buy and own their car and subscribe to energy, including the use of the battery, on a basis of kilometers driven.

Shai Agassi, former SAP executive, formed Project Better Place last year with $200 million in first-round funding to focus on developing and deploying a regional and global infrastructure to support electric vehicles on a country-by-country basis. Project Better Place will establish a widespread grid of electric charging spots at current parking locations as well as battery exchange stations through software systems integration. (Earlier post.)

The collection of park and charge spots across a country or city, together with software that controls the timing for charging the cars, creates a smart grid—synchronized and extending the country’s existing electric grid, matching excess electricity on the grid with the need to charge batteries flattening the demand curve in the process. When we put together the charge points, the batteries, exchange stations, and the software that controls timing and routing we get a new class of infrastructure—the Electric Recharge Grid (ERG). A new category of companies will emerge in the next few years which will install, operate and service customers across this grid—called Electric Recharge Grid Operators (ERGOs).

—Project Better Place white paper distributed at EVS-23

Project Better Place plans to deploy an extensive network of 500,000 battery charging spots in Israel, eliminating concerns about driving range. An on-board computer system will indicate to the driver the remaining power supply and the nearest charging spot. Renault is working on development of exchangeable batteries for continuous mobility. The entire framework will go through a series of tests starting this year.

The Israeli government recently extended a tax incentive on the purchase of any zero-emissions vehicle until 2019, making them more affordable. Combined with the lower cost of electricity as opposed to fuel-based energy, and the vehicle’s lifetime guarantee, the total cost of ownership for the customer will be significantly lower than that of a fuel-based car over the life cycle of the vehicle, according to the partners.

The partners identify Israel as an ideal first mass market—90% of car owners drive less than 70 kilometers per day, and all major urban centers are less than 150 kilometers apart.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance, created in 1999, is the fourth largest automotive group in the world by sales volume (5,965,000 vehicles sold in 2006).