Perhaps it is just my anticipation for the Watchmen movie coming March of next year, but this technology reminds me of something pulled right out of this graphic novel.

In the world of Watchmen, which was an alternate history 1985, cars did not run on gas, but electricity. Of course, these cars needed to be charged, but there were charging stations known as “spark hydrants” located everywhere along the side of the road. All an electronic car driver needed to do is park the car, attach a cable, and it was time to go.

The reason why I bring this comic-book reference up is there is movement called Project Better Place, which plans to create a network of charging stations similar to Watchmen’s vision. They plan on creating these new electronic grids in Denmark, Israel, Australia, and there are now plans to implement this project in San Francisco.

This Bay Area plan is to the tune of one billion dollars, which is enough for 250,000 charging posts and 200 battery swap stations. It is planned to be operational come 2012, but I’m pretty sure every car won’t be operational by that time. Maybe it will help usher in an age of electric cars, one that is being transitioned by the hybrid cars.

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