Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor, Mr. Eli Yishai,
Minister of National Infrastructures and Energy, Mr. Benjamin Ben-Eliezer,
Minister of Environmental Protection, Mr. Gideon Ezra,
Directors General of the Government Ministries, headed by the Director General of the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr. Raanan Dinur,
Distinguished Ambassadors of Japan, France and Denmark,
Chairman of the Renault-Nissan Company, Mr. Carlos Ghosn,
My young friend, Shai Agassi, Initiator of the Better Place Project,
President of the Manufacturer’s Association and Chairman of the Bureau for the Coordination of Economic Organizations, Mr. Shraga Brosh,
Honorable Mayor of Tel Aviv, Mr. Ron Huldai,
Chairman of the Board of Directors of the UMI Company, Mr. Avihu Ben-Nun,
Distinguished Guests,
Dear Friends,
Henry Ford once said: “Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you what kind of car you drive.” Many years have passed since then; cars have dramatically improved since the first Ford Company model, which was once the dominant automobile on the roads around the world. However, one thing has barely changed – automobiles continue to roll down the street powered by gasoline. Our dependence on this is one which more and more people feel should be severed.
It influences our way of life and the quality of life, and often also the content of our lives. Many times one can ask how, in such a technologically advanced environment – a 21st Century environment – the dependence on this energy source continues to be so great and so influences our lives despite the clear and recognizable drawbacks of this energy source. This is especially true with regard to the quality of our lives and the quality of our environment and our planet, where we all live.
I suppose there are many reasons. Certainly they are somehow connected to the fact that all those who derive benefits from this energy source did not exactly want to encourage finding alternative sources, and this is true with regard to the automobile companies as well. It seems to me that over the past several years, we have reached a new understanding regarding the constants of time the Earth has in relation to the factors which influence the quality of life on it.
This is a relatively new phenomenon which reached us here in Israel quite late. I admit that I reached an understanding regarding how serious a problem this is quite late in relation to the damage caused by pollution and other threats which can influence the way of life almost anywhere on Earth. There are many fields in which we are beginning to change this, but there is no doubt that reducing our dependence on petroleum as a primary energy source can serve as a component of fundamental change in our quality of life and in the quality of the environment, which in turn influences our quality of life.
What is needed to make this dramatic change is that that same small boy – as in the fairy tale – will come and say, “Gentlemen, the king has no clothes.” You see, we all see it, so why then do we not say it to ourselves, and then we will be able to mobilize our strength so that we can make this change. The child in this story is not far from being a child himself, but he has accomplished what almost anyone much older than he could manage during their lifetime – and that is Shai Agassi. It is clear how fond I am of him, ever since I saw him for the first time when I arrived at the Research and Development Center of the SAP Company in Ra’anana, when we celebrated its expansion several years ago. The one thing which always pleased me regarding this talented young man, who has received international recognition, is the fact that he never for one second tried to cut himself off from his home. He knows his home is here, and once every several weeks, he would meet with me and introduce his ideas on how to do things which would express the relative advantages we have here, together with the opportunities which the new reality could create for us here. Thus we also arrived at this idea regarding automobiles powered by electric sources of energy, which are not dependent on polluting sources. They also involve immense political dependence, especially in a country like the State of Israel, and we all know it.
I greatly appreciate your initiative Shai, as well as your ability to leverage it and recruit the most serious forces of the business community in Israel, as well as in the industry; for example, a leading company such as Renault-Nissan – which is truly one of the leading companies in the world. This is an unusual accomplishment, and you did it.
Nothing would have happened here in the State of Israel in this regard were it not for the President of the State providing us with inspiration. This must be said, and well done on his part. I admire the mental and intellectual astuteness of our President, who constantly reflects on the 22nd Century. At our age, we think about what must be done in the 21st Century; our President is forging ahead and examining what must be done for the 22nd Century, perhaps with solutions for the 23rd Century as well. The inspiration he provides is inestimable and welcome, and we thank him from the bottom of our hearts.
I thank all those in the government system. They always say of us that we are part of a rigid bureaucracy, something which deters investors. When we act quickly, they say: we gave in to pressure; we did not think enough; we did not examine enough; we did not know enough. By the way, I prefer the second part of the criticism over the first part. As one of the greatest personalities who lived in the country, the late Moshe Dayan, once famously said, he preferred to deal with horses who wanted to gallop ahead rather than with donkeys, who must be constantly hit on the hindquarters so that they will move. It is good that we acted in this manner, and it is greatly thanks to the actions, energy, involvement and caring of the Director General of the Prime Minister’s Office, Raanan Dinur.
I also wish to thank the three ministers, who each in their own field were involved in the project. I would like to propose something practical: the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor, as well as the Ministries of National Infrastructures and Environmental Protection share a common interest. They have promised me that they will cooperate with you in order to overcome the obstacles which may stand in the way, and there will be many obstacles.
I wish to say to you, Mr. Ghosn, as Chairman of the company, and to the charming and capable Ambassador of France, who I see here (so perhaps I will tell you both at the same time): the central problem of this whole idea is, ultimately, the energy source. Today, there are computers the size of a PC, the size of a PDA, which have power sources capable of working almost without limit, thereby allowing these computers to achieve a level of memory which in the past would have necessitated computers the size of a large building. One can also use them to make telephone calls and send e-mails – essential to running an office. All this is contained in a microchip so small that they need to manufacture it with a slightly broader platform so that there will be room to hold it, otherwise it would be impossible.
Explain to me why an automobile based on electric power needs a 250 kilogram battery. This is unreasonable; this is unacceptable; this does not meet any standard of commonsense that we are familiar with in regard to our technological reality. Why has no one thought of this before? Perhaps because there was an ulterior interest not to think. However, that interest is gone now – Renault, a leading company on a world scale, has announced its intentions, and from now on, new competition will begin. How does one develop an energy source built on two elements: of course built on energy, but also built on solar energy? Especially in countries such as ours, where there are more sunny days than almost any other place in the world, other than several Caribbean islands. We have over 330 days of sun annually. If we succeed here in developing a source which can absorb energy from the sun as well as alternative electric energy, which will not be too large and have enough energy to power Renault-Nissan’s most sophisticated car – not the 100 cc automobile or even a 1600 cc automobile, but rather those automobiles, which were highly regarded at the time, and had three or four or even six liters of 200, 250 even 300 horsepower. Gentlemen, if we do this, the State of Israel will be able to help many economies around the world. This is a tremendous challenge.
Mr. Chairman, Mr. Ambassador, I suggest that you establish a joint fund through the Chief Scientist, who is sitting here, Dr. Eli Ofer. In other words, the Government of Israel, with the agreement of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor who is the Chief Scientist’s superior, on a basis which we will decide, will invest in this fund, as will you. The fund will deal with the development of this energy source.
By the way, I found something else strange – there are not enough start-ups in the field of developing solar energy in a country like the State of Israel. It seems slightly unreasonable. I have yet to decipher what is behind this fact, but it is unreasonable. I tell you, we are an odd country, quarrelsome, angry, one which does not always express its support, but those same people who do not always succeed in exercising discipline have the capability of innovating that which withstands the highest standards among countries in the world, and even outshines them. As you are going to invest so much capital in production, in the new automobile and in this experiment which may serve as a historic breakthrough which will change life as we know it – not only the driving experience – let us invest several million in research and development on one thing, on the energy source for these automobiles. I am convinced that, other than Shai Agassi, there are several other little Shai Agassis who do not yet know that they are Shai Agassi, and who would be capable of being partners in the innovative intellectual effort to ensure that, when they have a similar meeting in 25 years time, they will not quote Henry Ford, but rather what the Chairman of Renault said.
Thank you very much.