But even in Denmark, one of the most environmentally conscious nations on the planet, the plan has been met with skepticism. It is still unclear whether car buyers can be persuaded to make the switch. “There is a psychological barrier for consumers when their car is dependent on a battery station,” said Henrik Lund, professor of energy planning at Aalborg University. “It’s risky.”

The Silicon Valley start-up, Better Place, is making a big push to supplant petroleum-burning engines in both Denmark and Israel. The experiment has additional implications that reach beyond the Scandinavian nation. By revamping the power grid, Dong Energy, Better Place’s partner and the biggest utility in Denmark, wants to power the anticipated fleet of electric cars with wind energy. With Better Place and the smart grid working together, cars would charge up as the winds blow at night, when power demand is at its lowest. Charging would soak up the utility’s extra power and sharply shrink the carbon footprint of electric vehicles.

I personally believe automakers will eventually embrace electric vehicles on a large scale; it’s just a question of when. I think it’s important for the skeptics to keep in mind that in every industry, the incumbent always says it will never change. The mainframe guys said people would never need PCs, and I think the same will eventually hold true for the electric car.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about electric cars

While the market awaits the next big advance in electric car technology, Nissan’s timely launch solidifies its position within the Asian market. The EV platform, as Nissan is calling it, will be “incorporated into a new vehicle body that will be unveiled at the beginning of August” according to the website Technology Review. This model will apparently be more durable and safer than other electric cars currently available.

Nissan intends to have a vehicle ready for production and limited distribution in 2010, most likely modeled on the Cube, a boxy looking car which Autoweek.com noted as being similar in design to the Scion. Masahiko Tabe, Nissan’s manager of advanced vehicle engineering, said in a statement to the website that “The first production vehicles will be for regional areas like California. We will later expand the EV all over the world.”

One concern with the EV system, as with many other battery-operated electric engines, will of course be range. Nissan claims that the EV will be able to cover 100 miles on a single charge, but as a recognition of the inherent limitations, has added features to help offset the per-charge distance. Those features, according to Nissan’s press release, will be the following:

Maximum range display

• With a simple touch of a button, the navigation map shows the driving radius within range under the current state of charge.
• The system can calculate if the vehicle is within range of a pre-set destination.

Update on charging stations

• The navigation system points out the latest information on available charging stations within the current driving range.
• Detailed information for each charging station will also be displayed.

Timer function

• The timer function enables the air-conditioner or battery charging to begin at a specified time. The air-conditioner can be pre-set while the vehicle is plugged-in to cool the cabin to a desirable temperature before driving begins, without taxing the vehicle’s battery. Meanwhile, the battery charging can be set to start at a specified time at night to benefit from more favorable electricity rates.

EV remote control and monitoring function

• The driver can monitor the state-of-charge of the EV via an online website and a cellular phone. For example, when the battery is fully charged, a message alert is sent to the cellular phone. Additional remote control functions range from switching the charging system ON/OFF or setting the air-conditioner timer.

It will be interesting to see if this is enough to sway the consumer market to make the switch away from traditional fueled automobiles towards electric-powered models. Given the limited distance it can travel on a single charge, despite the added features, this entrant still seems geared to metropolitan areas, which certainly present a large opportunity if the marketing message and price point are right.