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Posts Tagged ‘clean energy’

Companies working on ideas for charging and fueling green cars have been on a roll lately. The streak kicked off last Sunday with Better Place landing $350 million in equity, and continued with SunHydro touting plans to dot east coast highways with hydrogen fueling stations. Now Coulomb Technologies, provider of electric charging stations for plug-in vehicles, has gotten its turn, raising $14 million in a second round of venture funding.

All of these companies have been working out of the limelight for a while now — infrastructure isn’t as sexy as the cars themselves. Coulomb has quietly been installing its ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations one city at a time in North America and Europe. These machines, small enough to be bolted to a roadside street lamp, pump up to 240 volts of AC power or 500 volts of DC power, juicing up drivers’ batteries quickly while they’re on the go — all they have to do is swipe a ChargePoint card, just like a debit card.

But Coulomb says 2010 will be its breakout year, with plans to roll out thousands of new stations across many cities, and to establish footholds in Asia and South America. The recent funding, led by Voyager Capital and Rho Ventures, and including Siemens Venture Capital and Hartford Ventures, should give it the boost it needs to make this happen.

In addition to installing stations in one municipality at a time, the Campbell, Calif., company is also forging partnerships with companies who will make the technology available in their parking lots. Perhaps the biggest boon in this area was the deal with McDonalds to make charging stations accessible for fast food diners with plug-in vehicles. The company also counts Dell, Reliant Energy, DTE Energy and Element Hotels among its strategic partners. In all, it provides charging stations to 120 clients, including cities.

The funding is yet another sign that electric vehicle infrastructure is finally attracting the attention it deserves. For a while, EV makers and enthusiasts alike have been wondering how wide adoption of these cars will occur without the necessary charging and fueling infrastructure already existing in the field. Last year, Coulomb snagged $3.8 million in a first round of funding. The fact that its latest fund-raise tripled this amount is an extremely positive indicator of investor interest.

Now that infrastructure companies are starting to get the resources they need, it will be interesting to watch how competition between them plays out. Better Place, which is also pursuing a similar charging station concept, has focused a lot recently on battery-switching stations, where drivers could swap out depleted batteries for fully-charged models at designated points. This solution is intended to address charging wait times, which could still exceed a half hour with Coulomb’s stations. No would one want to wait a half hour at a gas station, is the thinking.

There is also hydrogen fuel cells to consider. With Toyota, Daimler, General Motors and Honda all working on hydrogen-powered cars, these models could present formidable competition for EVs. SunHydro, a startup planning to use solar energy to generate the hydrogen for fueling stations, seems to have a feasible, affordable plan. How much of the market will it carve out?

Estag Capital provided Coulomb’s first round of funding last year.

By  Camille Ricketts

Nissan will start taking online reservations for the Leaf in April. Better get in line now; some 50,000 people have already signed up!

Nissan LEAF, the world’s first all-electric, zero-emission car designed for the mass market, and leads up to the start of the vehicle-purchase process. The Nissan LEAF will be available to consumers via lease or sale, in a single transaction that includes the battery. Steps to acquiring a Nissan LEAF are:

REGISTER: Interested people can register for more information about the Nissan LEAF on www.NissanUSA.com. To date, close to 50,000 people have registered on the website. Registrants will be given first priority to reserve a Nissan LEAF.

RESERVE: The reservation process will begin in April, shortly after the announcement of the price of the Nissan LEAF. Upon paying a fully refundable $100 reservation fee, registrants will be among the first in line able to order a Nissan LEAF.

ORDER: Nissan will begin taking firm orders in August, for deliveries when sales begin in the driver’s particular market.

EARLY DELIVERIES: Rollout begins in select markets in December 2010, with vehicles available in all major launch markets quickly thereafter.

“The Nissan LEAF purchase process is effortless, transparent and accessible, offering value with a one-stop-shop approach for everything related to the car, including the assessment, permitting and installation of in-home battery charging units,” said Carlos Tavares, Chairman, Nissan Americas. “We want everyone to feel good about having a car that is affordable, fun to drive and good for the environment.”

Coinciding with this next phase of the Nissan LEAF launch is the debut of Nissan’s initial global marketing campaign, which is called “The New Car.” A first look at the campaign – which illustrates Nissan’s passion about the potential for zero-emission mobility and a better, cleaner world – was shown in New York as part of the culmination of the Nissan LEAF Zero-Emission Tour.

The Nissan LEAF Zero-Emission Tour covered 10,000 miles in the United States and Canada, providing the first opportunity for more than 100,000 people to see and learn about the Nissan LEAF first hand.

“There was a groundswell of grassroots support from coast to coast,” said Tavares. “Everywhere we went, people recognized a new form of mobility – a turning point – and they wanted to be a part of it. The response was spontaneous and diverse. We were joined by mayors and government officials, CEOs, utility partners, car enthusiasts, students, dealers, media, environmentalists, Twitter users and lots of families.”

Tour Highlights:
Diverse tour stops, stretching from Stanford University to the Kennedy Space Center. Other stops included: Phoenix on New Year’s Eve, in conjunction with the Fiesta Bowl; Qwest Field in Seattle; the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland; and a charging-station-equipped McDonald’s in Cary, N.C. The tour also stopped at Nissan Americas in Franklin, Tenn; the Smyrna, Tenn., manufacturing facility where the Nissan LEAF will be built starting in 2012; and Nissan Design Americas in San Diego. New York area stops include Madison Square Garden (Feb. 10), and upcoming public displays at the Time Warner Center (Feb. 12) and the Liberty Science Center (Feb. 13).

Due to the high level of interest, Atlanta and Boston were added to the original tour schedule, bringing total cities to 24.

PHOENIX, Jan 28, 2010 — BUSINESS WIRE

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu today recognized ECOtality, Inc. (OTCBB: ETLE), and its wholly owned subsidiary, eTec (Electric Engineering Transportation Corporation), for the company’s work toward establishing robust electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the United States. Secretary Chu made his remarks at the Washington Auto Show in Washington, D.C. today during a news conference to announce financing that will enhance U.S. electric vehicle manufacturing.

“eTec is working on the largest EV infrastructure deployment in the world, and we are working very closely to get EVs on the road,” said Secretary Chu. “We need charging stations and infrastructure – it is very important.”

Secretary Chu announced that the Department of Energy has closed a $1.4 billion loan agreement with Nissan North America, Inc. The loan will support the modification of Nissan’s Smyrna, Tenn., manufacturing plant to produce the Nissan LEAF, a zero-emission, all-electric vehicle, and the lithium-ion battery packs to power them.

In August 2009, ECOtality’s subsidiary, eTec, was awarded a federal stimulus grant of nearly $100 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The grant is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), with the goal of creating thousands of new jobs, preserving existing jobs and jump-starting the economy.

The $100 million DOE grant is facilitating The EV Project, the largest rollout of electric vehicle infrastructure in the United States. With a match from project partners, The EV Project has a total value of more than $200 million, and will support electric vehicles with home-base, commercial and public chargers in major markets in five states: Arizona (Phoenix & Tucson areas), Washington (Seattle area), Oregon (Portland, Salem, Corvallis and Eugene), California (San Diego) and Tennessee.

eTec President and CEO Don Karner attended the announcement as a guest of Secretary Chu. Karner said, “The EV Project is paving the way for widespread acceptance of electric vehicles, and we are proud to be working with the Department of Energy to achieve the goal to create jobs and end our dependence on foreign oil.”

For more information about The EV Project, please visit www.theevproject.com.

About ECOtality, Inc.

ECOtality, Inc. (OTCBB:ETLE), headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., is a leader in clean electric transportation and storage technologies. Through innovation, acquisitions and strategic partnerships, ECOtality accelerates the market applicability of advanced electric technologies to replace carbon-based fuels. For more information about ECOtality, Inc., please visit www.ecotality.com.

Many electric car companies are still trying to compensate for “glorified golf car syndrome.” It’s a kind of inferiority complex that pushes them to produce ultra-hip, spectacularly innovative, or screaming fast electric vehicles—and to brand them as revolutionary—even though it drives the cost up and out of range for most consumers. What about folks who simply want an affordable, dressed-down, highway-capable family sedan that runs on electric drive technology that’s been proven to work for 100 years?

The answer could be the Ford Focus EV due out in late 2011—the first electric car designed for the generic aisle of the dealership. Ford’s plans for the Focus EV are not aimed at buzz and sizzle. Instead, the company is focused on addressing the biggest obstacle between EVs and the mainstream: cost.

(Sure, those other companies expect to ramp up production, realize economies of scale, and eventually reduce costs down to reason. But doesn’t that seem like a roundabout way to achieve the goal?)

Technology As Cool

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm (left) and Nancy Gioia, director of sustainable mobility technologies at Ford, check out the Ford Focus EV at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show.

The Ford Focus EV will be based on the next-generation Ford Focus, a capable if not head-turning car. By choosing an existing platform, Ford will save the expense associated with developing a unique design. Ever since the second-generation Prius, with its iconic design, became a hit, automakers have adopted the idea that a hybrid car with an innovative high-tech drivetrain needs to scream out for attention. That’s the direction that Nissan is taking with its yet-to-be-unveiled small electric car, also due out in 2012. The Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid, the new Honda Insight, and the Lexus HS250h are also original purpose-built designs.

Ford is gambling that the cool factor lies in the technology and price, not in the car’s name or the shape of the sheet metal. Pricing is not yet announced, but trimming the cost obviously will give Ford the ability to aim for affordability and profitability. (Nissan is aiming for $25,000 to $30,000 for its EV; and the Chevy Volt will cost in the range of $40,000.)

Pre-packaged Technology

The second cost-cutting measure is Ford’s use of generic pre-made electric car technology. In other words, Ford is using a system already developed by Magna International, a major global auto supply and technology firm, which has been looking for a carmaker to use its new pre-packaged electric car architecture, including motor, transmission, motor controller, lithium ion battery system and charger. Ford is the first to sign on.

Magna will also share in the engineering responsibility to integrate the electric propulsion system into the Ford Focus EV. Furthermore, Ford’s deal with Magna is non-exclusive—so the same system could be used by Ford’s competition to make an electric cars. In fact, Ford is encouraging Magna to spread the high-tech love, because Magna’s success with EV technology will increase the chances that other car companies will help defray costs. Implied in this approach is the likely slow rollout of pure electric cars, which could take a decade to grow beyond a niche.

Ford used a similar strategy with its Sync in-car entertainment system, developed in partnership with Microsoft, which can sell the technology to other automakers.

The Ford Focus EV is targeted to have a range of 100 miles between charges, courtesy of a 23 kWh battery pack. The Focus EV will not be a plug-in series hybrid, sometimes referred to as “extended-range electric vehicle,” which carries a small engine on board to recharge the batteries on the fly. Instead, you’ll need to plan your travels to get back to a plug before you use up the 100 miles worth of energy. Fully recharging could take from 6 to 12 hours, depending if you are using a 110-volt or 220-volt hookup. Ford is planning to introduce its own plug-in hybrid in 2012.

The Ford Focus EV will use a single-speed transmission. The powertrain, including the motor and gearbox, are packaged under the hood where you would expect to see a gasoline engine.

The Back Story

Ford had been chatting with Magna about electric cars for a couple of years, when in 2008 Magna presented its electric car prototype to Ford engineers and executives. “We took a look at that execution and said, ‘Hey, together we can really make this a proposition,” said Nancy Gioia, Ford’s Director of Sustainable Mobility Technologies.

Five months later, Ford announced its intention to produce the car at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show.

Early reviews of the Focus EV pre-production vehicles have been positive—with kudos for brisk acceleration, top-notch build-quality, and handling and braking much better than your average pre-production car. When Michigan’s Gov. Jennifer Granholm took a spin of the Focus EV at the Detroit Show, she was impressed. “At first, she was surprised that it wasn’t merely a concept car, but actually a road-ready demonstrator of battery electric vehicle technology,” said Gioia. “I think she was wowed by how it’s quiet, smooth and fun to drive.”

FOSTER CITY, Calif. — Lyndon Rive, a former member of the U.S. National Underwater Hockey team, didn’t have a mother who doted on him.She worked until 11 p.m. most nights and didn’t go to his boyhood sporting events.

Yet, Rive considers her the “best mother in the world” and not because she retired at age 45 as a millionaire. “She always supported me in whatever I wanted to do,” Rive says.

That turns out to have been a good choice.

Rive, 32, is now CEO and co-founder of SolarCity, which in three years has grown to become a leading residential solar installer in California, the nation’s largest solar market.

Perhaps more important, California-based SolarCity has emerged as one of the top consumer brands in solar at a time when green is hot and President Obama makes solar and other renewable energy sources front-page news.

Last year, SolarCity helped pioneer a way to bring solar to the masses and remove one of the biggest hurdles to its widespread adoption: costs of $15,000 or more for homeowners to go solar. With a SolarCity residential lease, customers can lease a system at no money down, and in many areas, save 10% to 15% a month on their combined electric and lease-payment bill, SolarCity says.

While other companies offer similar financing options, SolarCity has “created the first brand in solar for consumers,” says Joel Makower, executive editor of GreenBiz.com, an online trade publication. “They were very smart and creative in an industry that had been plodding along.”

On any day in San Francisco, chances are good that you’ll spot a green SolarCity van en route to an installation. The company claims 4,500 residential and commercial customers in California, Arizona and Oregon, including eBay and Intel.

Rive says SolarCity’s revenue will grow 40% this year – despite the recession – and 250% next year, given orders on the books. SolarCity employs 450 and plans to add 180 workers in the next quarter, he says. It also aims to expand to at least five states in the next year. Rive, while not releasing revenue for the privately held SolarCity, says it turned its first profit in the recently finished third quarter.

“Our trajectory is on fire,” Rive says.

That’s not a new phenomenon for him.

At age 17, Rive raked in thousands of dollars a month in his native South Africa as a distributor of natural cosmetics. The business ate up so much time, Rive never went to high school, and faced expulsion. His mother told him to “solve this problem,” Rive says.

Armed with his financial statements, Rive met with the principal, who then agreed to let Rive skip school but take the exams. Rive graduated and never set foot in college.

Still, he was a millionaire at age 30, he says, thanks to the sale of his second company, PC-monitoring firm Everdream, to PC giant Dell in 2007. At age 18, he was able to buy himself a two-seater plane and a ski boat. He now drives an electric Tesla Roadster; retail price: $100,000.

While Rive enjoys the perks of his success, business comes first. Lunch on a recent afternoon amounted to a bagel eaten while the 6-foot-2-inch Rive loped two steps at a time up an escalator to get to a meeting.

“Lyndon is a classic Silicon Valley entrepreneur,” says John Fisher, managing director of venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson, which invested in Everdream and SolarCity. “He’s savvy, gutsy, ambitious, fearless and driven.”

Too good to be true?

Rive will need all those attributes in the competitive solar market.

Nationwide, hundreds of solar companies and installers vie for business, especially in SolarCity’s key market, California. Competitors, such as REC Solar, Akeena Solar, GroSolar, SunPower and others, are also building successful brands.

To date, solar provides 1% of the USA’s energy. Despite the push by the Obama administration for more use of renewable energy, many states still lack strong enough incentives and laws to move broad solar adoption, says Matthew Woods, vice president of sales for REC Solar.

Financing and incentives can also be touch-and-go. Earlier this year, some SolarCity customers had to wait six months to get installations done after financing options dried up following last year’s financial market meltdown. SolarCity has since solved that problem with the creation of a $100 million fund by US Bancorp to finance its lease deals, it says. Other companies got caught in the same credit crunch, SolarCity spokesman Jonathan Bass says.

Still, one of Solar City’s biggest challenges is overcoming homeowner skepticism that its lease deal is too good to be true.

“We hear that a lot,” Rive says. “But we do save you money, and it doesn’t cost you a cent to go solar.”

SolarCity’s leases run for 15 years. The company designs, installs and maintains the system. SolarCity owns the system and gets the accompanying federal tax credits and state incentives. Homeowners pay SolarCity for the lease and the electricity they use. That’s typically about 15% less than their traditional monthly electric bill, SolarCity says.

Lease rates go up each year by up to 3.9%, no matter how much or how little electric rates move. And people who don’t use a lot of electricity aren’t likely to see savings, SolarCity says. In California, for instance, that’s anyone with electric bills under $150 a month.

Given federal tax credits, homeowners with available cash may also do better financially to buy a system, says REC’s Woods. SolarCity, as does REC, also offers outright sales, as well as leases or leaselike options.

But for those without cash or the gumption to maintain their solar systems, leasing is a “pretty good deal,” says Paula Mints, analyst at research firm Navigant Consulting.

The too-good-to-be-true thought crossed the mind of Los Angeles architect Colin Summers, 43.

“It felt a bit like subprime loans,” Summers says. He contacted SolarCity after spotting a Prius blanketed in the SolarCity logo.

Summers signed up for a SolarCity lease for his 2,000-square-foot Santa Monica home last year. The impetus? He likes being green. He loves technology. And his electricity bills had jumped to more than $300 a month.

Summers now pays about $200 a month: $80 for electricity and $120 for the lease. If he sells his home, Summers can transfer the lease to the new homeowner or pay it off.

Given the lure of green living among Santa Monica residents and the financial savings, Summers expects solar to be “more of a selling point than a problem.”

Underwater hockey ’showed drive’

Some big names have bet on Rive and his elder brother, Peter, SolarCity co-founder.

SolarCity has raised $80 million in venture capital funding, including from Draper Fisher Jurvetson.

Lyndon Rive was 22 when the venture capital firm first invested in him. One thing that impressed Fisher was Rive’s underwater hockey skill. The sport is played with lead pucks, pushed along the bottom of the pool by short sticks. Players wear fins and snorkels.

At age 18, Rive joined South Africa’s men’s open division team. In 2004 and 2006, he played for the U.S. team. In 1998, he first came to the U.S. as part of the South African team. Shortly thereafter, he sold his South African company and followed a brother to Silicon Valley.

“The notion of playing hockey underwater while holding your breath showed me Rive had extra passion and drive,” Fisher says.

Another SolarCity investor is Elon Musk, co-founder of online payment system PayPal, co-founder of electric carmaker Tesla Motors and CEO of rocket-maker SpaceX.

To say that Musk and Rive go way back is an understatement. Not only are they cousins, but their mothers are twins, and their fathers share the same birthday.

It was on a road trip with Musk to the Burning Man art event in the desert of Nevada that Rive first started thinking of solar.

Musk had invested in Everdream, too, and asked Rive what they were going to do next. Musk tossed out the idea of solar.

Rive and his brother, Peter, who is so green he catches his rainwater, vetted the idea. While technologists at heart, the Everdream co-founders decided the market didn’t need a new solar panel or something else technical as much as it needed a new brand that made adoption easier.

Currently, about 65% of SolarCity’s new residential customers choose to lease vs. buy a system, SolarCity says. The key to SolarCity’s future success, Rive says, is getting every homeowner-customer to feel like a VIP – whether they lease or buy.

“If we can do that, we’ll have a working formula,” he says.