Elon Musk: Tesla to demo battery swap technology on Thursday
Tesla CEO Elon Musk says Tesla will demo battery swap technology at its design studio near LA on Thursday night. Read more »
Report: Better Place to file for bankruptcy
If Better Place files for bankruptcy in a few days, as reported by Fortune, it would represent a sober end to a high-flying dream that raised hundreds of millions of dollars. Read more »
The art of the spectacular and public crash and burn
photo: Photo courtesy of amboo who?
The headline-blaring, jaw-dropping tech company crash and burn doesn’t happen all that often. But when it does, you can count on there being some similarities in leadership, transparency, and hype. Read more »
Shai Agassi says he still believes in the Better Place model
In the same week that Better Place has exited the U.S. and Australia to focus on Israeli and Denmark, Better Place founder and former CEO Shai Agassi says he still believes in the business model of swappable batteries and subscriptions for electrons. Read more »
VantagePoint curbs cleantech fund raising due to lack of interest
One of the most aggressive cleantech investors, VantagePoint Capital Partners, has stopped raising its more recent billion dollar cleantech fund. Why? Lack of interest from limited partners, the investors that put money into VC funds. And that’s been an ongoing trend. Read more »
Shocker: An electric car company actually meets production goals (and yes, it’s Tesla)
In contrast to the bulk of the electric car companies and vendors out there, Tesla actually reaches its planned production run rate of its Model S electric car. This is its path to profitability and mainstream auto status. Read more »
Better Place CEO departs, following Shai Agassi’s exit
Better Place is once again changing up its CEO, and after three months at the helm, Evan Thornley is stepping down. Founder and former CEO Shai Agassi stepped down in October, amid mounting losses and slow uptake of the electric car service. Read more »
Electric car startup Coda laying off 50
Yet another electric car startup is having trouble. Coda Automotive is laying off 50 employees — or 15 percent of staff — after a delayed launch, slow sales, and a car recall. The bad news follows Better Place layoffs, and A123 System’s bankruptcy. Read more »
As electric car experiments fumble, Tesla is last man standing
Three companies that made aggressive bets on the future of electric cars — A123 Systems, Fisker Automotive and Better Place — are now facing major problems financially and commercially. Read more »
Report: Better Place laying off hundreds
After slow sales in Israeli — the first test bed and flagship market — Better Place is laying off hundreds of employees. The company is struggling with losses as it figures out how to make Israelis want to sign up for electric car charging like a cell phone service. Read more »
Better Place raising $100M more in the wake of Agassi departure
Electric car charging startup Better Place continues to raise money from its investors — particularly Israel Corp — as it seeks to finish building out its networks in Denmark and Israel. The company is raising another $100 million on top of its previously raised $750 million. Read more »
Better Place and A123: Who will rise, who is down for the count?
Cleantech companies with effective business models still have excellent prospects, while those who don’t have a viable product to sell in the marketplace won’t be rising from anywhere. Read more »
Shai Agassi steps down as CEO of Better Place
The CEO of electric vehicle charging company Better Place, Shai Agassi, will step down as CEO and is being replaced with Evan Thornley, formerly the CEO of Better Place Australia. The company needs to make money and the initial roll out has been slow. Read more »
Better Place raises $50M loan from European Investment Bank
Electric car charging startup Better Place has raised another $50 million, this time in the form of a loan from European Investment Bank. The company has raised a whopping $800 million, mostly in equity to get its charging networks built out in Denmark and Israel. Read more »
Better Place delivers first electric cars in Israel
Four years after Better Place CEO Shai Agassi announced the startup would build out its first electric vehicle charging network in Israel, this past weekend, Better Place delivered its first 10 cars in Israel to employees at businesses. Read more »
While 2011 cleantech investing grew, later stage dominated
Cleantech venture capital and corporate investing for the full 2011 year was up in terms of overall dollar amounts compared to 2010, according to the research firm The Cleantech Group, but large follow-on rounds for matured companies continued to dominate the year. Read more »
Better Place raises $200M, boasts $2.25B valuation
Better Place, which hopes to build an empire of electric car charging and battery swapping stations, said Friday it has closed a $200 million funding that will bring the company’s valuation to $2.2 billion. Read more »
Tesla planning super charging station between SF and LA
Tesla is planning a “super charger” station somewhere between LA and San Francisco that can add 150 miles of charge to Tesla cars in 30 minutes and will use fast 90 kW chargers. Read more »
China: Now the land of cleantech capital
China has long been perceived as the must-tackle market for clean power and cleantech, but it’s also become a spigot of private capital for startups that find the marriage of money and market opportunity particularly appealing. Read more »
A clean-powered Better Place in Israel falls victim to environmentalists
Better Place’s network in Israel won’t be powered by much clean power at launch, CEO Shai Agassi tells me. That’s because Israel is caught up in the same battle that many clean power projects in the U.S. have faced: opposition to transmission lines. Read more »
Introducing: The new eco label “WindMade”
Eco labels have worked well in some cases, such as organic food, but will they work for renewable energy? The wind energy industry thinks so and proposed a program Wednesday to encourage companies to invest in wind and display their eco-friendly cred. Read more »
Flush With Cash: Fisker Adds Yet Another $100M
Electric car maker Fisker Automotive has already raised over $1 billion in equity, loans and grants. And yet, the company, which will be launching its first inaugural electric car this summer, has raised another $100 million. That’s on top of the $190 million which recently closed. Read more »
Fallbrook Pulls IPO, Still Revving for China
The blockbuster IPO by Tesla Motors revved up the public profile of electric cars over the past year. But Fallbrook Technologies, which makes transmission systems for bikes and EVs, pulled its $50 million IPO plan because of “unfavorable market conditions.” Read more »
Better Place Plugs Into the Chinese Power Grid
Electric vehicle battery-switching evangelist Better Place is digging deeper into the world’s biggest electric car market to come — China. Read more »
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Green IT Q1: Cleantech Breaking Out — and Bracing for Hard Times
Is the greentech industry headed for a breakout year or is it retrenching for hard times to come? The first three months of 2011 provided evidence that could support both assertions, with a big rise in venture capital investment and a big drop-off in global energy financing. Solar power remained the largest green technology sector in terms of venture capital investment, while in the world of electric vehicles, GM’s Chevy Volt hybrid and Nissan’s all-electric Leaf — the first two mainstream plug-in vehicles — hit the showroom floors in significant numbers. Meanwhile the smart grid sector’s relative dearth of VC investment was more than made up for by the massive round of acquisitions. Companies mentioned in this report include NRG Energy, Microsoft, Silver Spring Networks, Tesla and BrightSource Energy. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
PHOTOS: Better Place Gearing Up for Israel Launch
Electric car infrastructure startup Better Place has spent the past three years talking about its vision of selling electric car miles like cell phone minutes, accompanied by a network of chargers and battery swap stations. Now it’s getting ready to deliver in Israel. Read more »
Tesla’s Model S Battery Is Swappable, Just in Case
Tesla has designed its second electric car, the Model S, to have a swappable battery with the idea that if battery swapping becomes common for electric car drivers one day, the Model S will be prepared. It’s basically hedging its bets with battery swapping. Read more »
Better Place Prices Driving Plan in Denmark
The closely-watched electric vehicle project Better Place has finally announced its first pricing in Denmark in advance of a launch of the service in the fourth quarter of this year. Now we’ll have to wait to see if consumers actually find the offer attractive. Read more »
Report: Cut Battery Costs out of the Electric Vehicle Equation
Cutting the battery cost out of owning an electric vehicle could be a key way to push electric vehicles into the mass market, according to a report from consulting giant Accenture. Read more »
Greentech Generated 4 of 5 Largest VC Deals in 2010
Greentech startups captured four out of the five biggest U.S. venture capital rounds last year — and if it weren’t for Twitter, they might have landed all five. Read more »
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Green IT’s Q4 Winners: Wind Power, Solar Power, Smart Energy
Greentech marked its best year ever in 2010, and part of that is thanks to the wealth of activity across sectors during the fourth quarter. Global investment in clean energy surged, and while wind power remained the biggest greentech area, solar power saw the fastest growth. The energy efficiency sector appears to have more room for smaller players to make their mark amidst a rapidly maturing market. Meanwhile, China’s stance as a growing greentech giant continued to complicate its relationship with the United States. Companies mentioned in this report include General Electric, Intel, ZigBee, iControl, People Power and EnerNOC. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The Hurdles to Combining Electric Cars and Clean Power
The argument against electric cars is that if the grid is powered by mostly coal, then so are our cars. But the long term goal is to move the grid over to clean power. However, here’s the bumpy road ahead for these transitions. Read more »
Electric Vehicles to Hit Bay Area via Better Place, City CarShare
Two projects that will bring electric vehicles to Bay Area residents in indirect ways — taxis and car-sharing — were unveiled today. It’s not unusual for alternative vehicles to make it first to these types of ecosystems before they become mainstream via consumer purchases. Read more »
Where Tesla & Better Place Don’t Agree
Tesla and Better Place might seem like swell partners, given the EV startup connection, but think again. A Tesla VP says the companies look at batteries fundamentally differently. Read more »
Intel, Grid Net Launch Assault on Home Energy
Intel has made no secret of its ambition for a fat slice of the home energy management market, but here’s the chip maker’s official play: a hardware design blueprint based on its Atom chip for any manufacturer that wants to build and sell home energy monitoring devices. Read more »
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Green IT Overview, Q2 2010
In the second quarter of 2010, greentech startups scored record venture capital and increased spending despite a weak economy. Solar power retained its lead in greentech venture financing, while global investment for clean energy asset financing fell. China, meanwhile, underscored its rising might in the greentech industry, raising billions of dollars in green energy financing. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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Report: IT Opportunities in Electric Vehicle Management
During the next few years, plug-in hybrid and all electric vehicles will be mass-produced for the first time. The promise of reducing emissions, fuel consumption, and the cost of driving will prompt fleet operators and consumers to purchase more than 800,000 of these vehicles between 2010 and 2015, according to Pike Research’s forecasts. Keeping EVs charged and ready to go will require an infrastructure of equipment for vehicle charging and new IT management system for monitoring, analyzing, and controlling vehicle charging. This report looks at the opportunities for IT companies to solve a variety of challenges for utilities, automakers, consumers and others in the EV ecosystem. Includes market segment forecasts forcustomer information management, smart charging management and data analytics. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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The Post-Stimulus State of Cleantech VC
Nnow that U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) stimulus funding has practically dried up, venture capitalists can’t count on more government-induced tailwinds to propel their cleantech ambitions. So, how are they coping? I’d say pretty well, if you factor in an encouraging string of early 2010 ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
