Better Place Kicks Off Global Student Design Competition

Invites top 60 global design schools to design hands-free electric car charging
solution
PALO ALTO, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
Today, on the second anniversary of its launch, Better Place announced the
commencement of a global design competition, targeting the top design and
engineering schools to create the winning design for hands-free charging for
electric vehicles. Better Place will ask university-level students from the top
60 global design schools as named by BusinessWeek1 to compete for a chance to
design and develop a prototype for next generation electric car charging
infrastructure. Better Place will select one winning team and will invest in the
winning idea so that it may be developed into a prototype, which will be
showcased one year from now.

"Our heritage is grounded in working closely with universities to innovate a
more affordable, more convenient electric car for mass market," said Shai
Agassi, Founder and CEO, Better Place. "Design is an inherent part of our DNA as
we want to create a consumer experience with driving electric cars second to
none. Our design competition invites students to create an experience where
charging your electric car is ideally a completely automated system so that the
consumer can enjoy the freedom of electric mobility."

In August, Better Place won the bi-annual INDEX: Design to Improve Life Award,
which awarded the company with a €100,000 prize in recognition for the design of
its entire system. Better Place has decided to give back to the design community
by using the award to sponsor a global, university-level, design competition.
Better Place looks to continue its innovation in design and charging
infrastructure, even beyond the models demonstrated at the Frankfurt Motor Show
in September 2009 by engaging the community in designing next generation systems
that make electric cars even more affordable and convenient that gas cars are
today.

The design challenge, which begins today, invites BusinessWeek named global top
60 design schools to submit a proposal for their concept for hands-free charging
by Dec. 2, 2009. Proposals should be concise and outline core concepts for the
design. Better Place will select the ten best proposals by Jan 13, 2010, and
will award €3,000 per proposal so that the ten proposals can be developed
further.

Better Place will invite the ten semi-finalists to present their designs to the
Better Place selection committee in April 2010. From the ten semi-finalists,
Better Place will select one winning proposal by May 19, 2010, which will
receive €35,000 in funding to develop a prototype of the hands-free solution to
be demonstrated Oct. 29, 2010. The remaining funds will be applied towards
operational and administration costs.

Rules and Requirements:

* Must be named to BusinessWeek`s D Schools: The Global List
* Must have faculty sponsor and/or be part of design course;
* Submit proposal on or before December 2nd. Proposal can be in video or written
format and must address all of the below requirements;
* Better Place employees are ineligible to participate;
* Service standard parking spot (street, garage, etc.);
* Solution must be a hands-free charging solution;
* 3-phase, 32 amp charging;
* Solution must operate in all weather conditions:
* Cost: bill of materials not to exceed $1,000 USD.

For detailed information and a full list of terms and conditions for the design
challenge, please visit: http://www.betterplace.com/handsfreechallenge

About Better Place

Better Place, the leading electric vehicle services provider, is accelerating
the global transition to sustainable transportation. Better Place is building
the infrastructure and intelligent network to deliver a range of services to
drivers, enable widespread adoption of electric vehicles, and optimize energy
use. The Better Place network addresses historical limitations to adoption by
providing unlimited driving range in a convenient and accessible manner. The
company works with all parts of the transportation ecosystem, including
automakers, battery suppliers, energy companies, and the public sector, to
create a compelling solution. Based in California and privately held, Better
Place has operating companies in Israel, Denmark, and Australia. More
information is available at http://www.betterplace.com.

1
BusinessWeek:http://bwnt.businessweek.com/interactive_reports/talenthunt/index.asp?chan=innovation_special+report+--+d-schools_special+report+--+d-schools

Better Place
Julie Mullins
Julie.mullins@betterplace.com
+1 650-387-0486

Copyright Business Wire 2009