EV Technology In The North: Taking Off?
A week after we reported on the THINK City the Norwegians announce that the top US cities in which they are going to roll out the THINK City are Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and New York. To top things off they are working with AeroVironment, Inc. to develop a fast charging system which loads the car in 15 minutes, and these fifteen minutes give you a 80% charge. That makes long distance travel with the THINK City possible, given that the charging stations are many and placed at the right locations.
In other news, Better Place, the company which is working on creating the infrastructure for your EV with switchable batteries, announced that they secured USD 350m in a series B round, and have now HSBC, Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Lazard Asset Management among their investors. That gives Better Place a value of USD 1,25 billion, which should give them the funds to develop and roll out their technology. They aim to have their solution ready for 2011 in Denmark, so we can be sure to see some of that money flow to the country on the Jutland peninsula.
THINK Has Your EV Car Ready. Now.
THINK is not a start-up anymore, though it was one in the beginning of the 1990s when the world experienced a similar recession. Their history is fascinating, with USD 150m invested by US car giant Ford during the companies ownership of the Norwegians, struggling after Ford sold them out in 2003, until in 2006 Norwegian Investinor and other investors bought the company. Under new management and with new strategic goals the company is ready to become a major player in the growing electric vehicle market.
Their vision is to provide a better way of moving, which is carbon and carefree. The result of their vision is an electric city car with a Scandinavian design and modern technology under the hood. The THINK City is manufactured in Finland by Valmet Automotive, who is also a shareholder and strategic partner. It seems the Finns are establishing themselves slowly but surely as a major player in the EV manufacturing segment, a very smart decision. But back to THINK.
Cleantech Group Q3/09: Cleantech Now The Largest VC Investment Category
Cleantech venture investment continued its recovery in Q3 of 2009 according to preliminary results from the Cleantech Group. Following a rebound in Q209, the Q309 total is up a further 10 percent compared to the previous quarter but down 42 percent compared to Q3 of 2008 (press release).
The global stimulus money flowing into cleantech also boosted private investment in the sector. The cleantech investments in North America, Europe, China and India totalled $1.59b in Q309. Cleantech is now the largest category for venture capital investment, eclipsing biotech and IT. According to the Cleantech Group, the sector already accounted for 27 percent of venture capital in the second quarter this year (see the graph above). Here is a link to the release.
Cleantech Group Q209: The Worst Is Behind?
Cleantech Group released last week their Investment Monitor for Q209 (only for members). Globally, Q209 cleantech venture investments increased by 24 percent compared to previous quarter Q109 but was down by 38 percent on an annual level from Q208. Global cleantech venture investments totalled 1,3 billion dollars at Q2. The Group estimates that 84 per cent of total venture dollars investments was follow-on rounds.
In Q2, there was a rebound for cleantech VC investments and the Group believes the worst is behind cleantech venture capital.
