Better Place’s financial batteries get “supersharged” with a massive $350 million investment.
If you’ve been following clean tech news, you’ll know that Shai Agassi’s Better Place electric car development company has received a substantial “charge” for its financial batteries by receiving funding of $350 million. The investment comes by way of a consortium of investors that includes the international group HSBC Israel Corp.
According to Globes, Better Place will receive one of the largest ever clean technology funding deals in Israel, which will give the company a value of more than $1.25 billion.
Better Place has already shown that it can convince some worldwide automobile concerns to pay attention to its concepts – Denmark, the US, Canada, Japan and Australia, for example. The technology includes developing a network of batter exchange stations to give its cars built by Renault-Nissan a much better driving range than other concepts such as GM’s Chevrolet Volt.
Better Place has made agreements with France’s Renault-Nissan company, where the technology innovated by the Israeli based company will be featured in their new electric ZE or zero emission cars that can either be recharged at home, at special recharging terminals in train stations or other public places; or at battery exchange stations, which were recently tested in Japan.
Agassi (pictured left) used a family size Renault Fluence to show that one does not have to drive a small mini-car or glorified golf cart in order to enjoy the technology of having a fully electric car.
Both the Better Place electric car design and its unique battery replacement center concept has been demonstrated in Japan, which is acknowledged as a world leader in automobile technology.
Better Place has also demonstrated its concepts at both the COP 15 Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, as well as at the recent Frankfurt Auto Show. Next week it will be opening its Better Place center outside of Tel Aviv, giving business people and the public a closer access to the developing technology. Green Prophet hopes to be there.
The recent financial deal headed by HBSC will give the banking consortium a 10% ownership of Better Place venture shares, and the HBSC Head of Global Capital Financing, Kevin Adeson, will sit on Better Place’s Board of Directors. Adeson is very enthusiastic of Better Place’s future in the world electric car market:
“We are confident that Better Place has the technical and commercial solutions to allow for the mass adoption of electric cars in the near term. The Better Place switchable battery solution, which addresses the range limitation of fixed battery electric cars, will offer the consumer an affordable and attractive alternative to current combustion engine and hybrid vehicles.
We expect the Better Place model to be widely adopted across many countries and cities, particularly in those markets with policies strongly favoring electric vehicle adoption.”
More articles on Better Place and electric cars:
Better Place Battery Exchange Stations Tested in Japan
Better Place Electric Cars Tested by the Press at Copenhagen Climate Conference
Better Place Electric Cars vs GM Chevrolet Volt
Author: Maurice Picow
Maurice Picow grew up in Oklahoma City, U.S.A., where he received a B.S. Degree in Business Administration. Following graduation, Maurice embarked on a career as a real estate broker before making the decision to move to Israel. After arriving in Israel, he came involved in the insurance agency business and later in the moving and international relocation fields. Maurice became interested in writing news and commentary articles in the late 1990’s, and now writes feature articles for the The Jerusalem Post as well as being a regular contributor to Green Prophet. He has also written a non-fiction study on Islam, a two volume adventure novel, and is completing a romance novel about a forbidden love affair. Writing topics of particular interest for Green Prophet are those dealing with global warming and climate change, as well as clean technology - particularly electric cars.
I think this is a very smart idea. However, I think since there are already gas stations out there, we should be somehow adding on to all of them and creating these battery stations. This way, people can get gas, and charge at the same time. Just a thought.. That way, it will take up less space.