Better Place secures $350 million series B round led by HSBC Group; electric car start-up valued at $1.25 billion

Shai Agassi and the team at Better Place have done it again: almost two years to the day after announcing its first car partnership and its first country deployment in Israel, Better Place today announced that it has signed an agreement with an HSBC-led investor consortium for new equity financing of $350 million. The deal marks one of the largest clean-tech investments in history and values Better Place at $1.25 billion.

This Series B equity financing round features participation from new investors including HSBC, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, and Lazard Asset Management. These investors will join existing Series A investors including Israel Corp., VantagePoint Venture Partners, Ofer Hi-Tech Holdings, Morgan Stanley Principal Investments, Maniv Energy Capital, and Israel Cleantech Ventures, among others, as shareholders of Better Place. For HSBC, which led the round with an investment of $125 million, the deal represents one of the largest financial investments of its kind by HSBC.

As part of the deal, Kevin Adeson, HSBC Head of Global Capital Financing, will join the Better Place Board of Directors, and HSBC will own approximately 10% of the company’s shares.

“Today marks the end of an extensive process with the outcome being a decision by one of the world’s largest, most conservative banks, HSBC, to take the validating step of investing in a private company intent on bringing innovation to the trillion-dollar automotive and energy industries,” said Shai Agassi, Better Place Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “The strong investment commitment and global relationships that HSBC, Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Lazard Asset Management bring to the table combined with the continuing confidence from our original investors enables us to scale up globally and execute against our plan.”

In welcoming Adeson to the Board, Idan Ofer, Chairman of Better Place and Israel Corp., remarked, “Kevin and the entire HSBC team will bring more than just capital to the table. We expect that HSBC will help us to scale in Europe, China and beyond, and we’re already seeing the value that they are bringing to the company and the Board.”

Stuart Gulliver, Executive Director, HSBC Holdings and Chief Executive of Global Banking and Markets, said, “We believe the switch from internal combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles will create future growth opportunities in the auto and utility industries, and we are delighted to take the opportunity of investing in Better Place to put HSBC at the heart of these developments. Better Place is a private-sector solution to the issue of infrastructure provision for electric cars and can succeed without government subsidy and without sacrificing consumer expectations for personal mobility.”

Better Place’s new board member, Kevin Adeson of HSBC, commented: “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.”

The financing allows Better Place to expand its geographic footprint while continuing to execute against its committed R&D and deployment milestones. The company intends to expand into markets where the business model economics and investor returns are optimized, notably in Europe and Asia.

Better Place says that it continues to meet its timetable for Israel and Denmark launch plans for the end of 2011 when the first Renault switchable battery electric cars hit the road. Better Place also will continue to execute against its strategy of early deployment projects in Australia and select North American markets a few months after the Israel and Denmark launches as planned.

Additionally, the company’s R&D team is currently testing each element of the Better Place solution in real-life scenarios around the world in a multi-phase cycle, beginning with the company’s managed EV network in Denmark, which began last December, and a Tokyo electric taxi project with battery switch station, which kicks off in April this year. These and other development milestones lead up to full-scale trials in the second half of 2010 and commercial launch in 2011.

Agassi added: “Our technology and solutions, together with our strong partnership with Renault, provide us at least a two-year time advantage over all other alternative energy vehicle approaches. Our solution is the only one that can scale to decrease countries’ oil consumption and significantly reduce emissions, while providing consumers with electric cars that are more convenient and affordable than internal combustion engine cars.”

“Better Place is a huge experiment in how you sell and fuel vehicles, and these investors are becoming convinced this will make money,” Rod Lache, an analyst at Deutsche Bank told the New York Times. “It is a financial validation. Now we need to see technical validation and consumer validation.”

The transaction is subject to approval by antitrust regulators and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2010.

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Conference to highlight Jewish community's response to energy challenges

Young professionals will gather in San Francisco next month for a conference featuring cleantech entrepreneurs, investors and policymakers.

The goal of the Jewish Response to the Energy Challenge conference, scheduled for November 8th, is to "share ideas and experiences that will advance a generational movement for clean and secure energy."

The conference agenda features keynote speakers and breakout sessions on U.S.-Israel energy cooperation, transportation, clean economy, policy reform, and sustainability.

Confirmed speakers include:

Alan Salzman, CEO VantagePoint Venture Partners
Adam Werbach, CEO Saatchi and Saatchi
Jason Wolf, Head of Better Place California
Yosef Abramowitz, Co-Founder Arava Power Company
David Arfin, VP Strategy Solar City
JB Straubel, CTO Tesla Motors
Joel Makower, Executive Director, GreenBiz.com
Sanjay Wagle, Special Advisor, DOE Recovery Team
Anne Korin, Chair, Set America Free Coalition

I am pleased to be moderating the panel on U.S.-Israel energy cooperation, which will feature the following panelists:

Arthur Haubenstock, General Counsel, BrightSource Energy
Eitan Yudelevich, Executive Director, BIRD Foundation
Matan Friedman, Senior Associate, Bessemer Venture Partners
Sagi Rubin, Associate, Virgin Green Fund
Martin Kace, Founder and President, Empax

Registration for the conference is required.

I hope to see you next month in San Francisco!

Better Place unveils battery switch technology in Japan

Better Place today unveiled the prototype of its battery switch technology in Yokohama, Japan. The system is a key component of Better Place's planned infrastructure of electric car exchange stations and charge spots.

Better Place showcased its battery switch platform using a modified NISSAN electric crossover SUV to demonstrate how to switch a depleted battery for a fully charged one.



“Today marks a major milestone for the automotive industry as well as for Better Place,” said Shai Agassi, Founder and CEO, Better Place, in a company press release. “For nearly a century, the automotive industry has been inextricably tied to oil. Today, we’re demonstrating a new path forward where the future of transportation and energy is driven by our desire for a clean planet and a robust economic recovery fueled by investments in clean technology, and one in which the well-being of the automotive industry is intrinsically coupled with the well-being of the environment.”

The Renault-Nissan Alliance is partnering with Better Place in Israel to enable zero-emissions mobility throughout the country by 2011. The realization of zero-emissions mobility in Israel will require the deployment of battery switch stations as well as a steady and reliable supply of vehicles adapted to accept the switchable-battery layout required by the Better Place business model.

“Japan has always been at the forefront of automotive engineering and design and maintains a strong sense of environmentalism,” said Kiyotaka Fujii, President of Better Place Japan and Head of Business Development for Asia Pacific. “The launch of Japan’s electric vehicle study is an important milestone in achieving a zero-emission transportation society, and our successful demonstration of charging vehicles with both fixed and switchable batteries is an important contribution towards moving the entire industry forward.”

Moshe Kaplinsky, CEO of Better Place Israel, told Globes: "This is a great achievement for Better Place and for Israel. The technology, which was developed in Israel, was presented in the heart of Japan's automobile industry. The development and demonstration of the battery replacement technology brings us significantly closer to completing the company's solution for developing a full recharging infrastructure for electric cars."

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Better Place applauds Hawaii's electric car legislation

Hawai'i will require large parking lots to reserve spaces for electric cars and to provide recharging capacity if a bill passed by the state's Legislature is signed into law.

The measure would take Hawai'i one step closer to developing a viable electric-vehicle market, supporters say.

"We think it's a great step forward for Hawai'i," said Pete Cooper, spokesman for Better Place Hawaii, which is seeking to create a $1 billion statewide charging network for such cars.

The Legislature gave Better Place's initiative a boost this week when it approved a bill authorizing the issuance of up to $45 million in special-purpose revenue bonds for the company's planned network.

Better Place signed an agreement with Hawaiian Electric Co. in December 2008 to make such service possible as early as 2011, and the initiative has the backing of Gov. Linda Lingle. Better Place told legislators it wants to develop a system to support more than 10,000 electric vehicles in Hawai'i by 2014, according to a report in the Honolulu Advertiser.

Better Place has raised more than $300 million and is partnering with utilities and governments to install its electric vehicle infrastructure in Israel, Denmark, Australia, Portugal, Ontario, Hawaii, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Better Place's primary R&D center is in Israel. Shai Agassi, Better Place's Founder and CEO, was named to the Time 100 in April 2009.

The electric-vehicle bill was among a handful of adopted measures that environmentalists applauded yesterday as the Legislature wrapped up its session.

One bill would increase the tax on a barrel of oil by $1 to help the state explore alternative energy and protect local agriculture. Another bill would require public utilities to produce 25 percent of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020 and 40 percent by 2040.

The electric-vehicle bill would require that any parking lot with at least 100 public stalls be required to set aside 1 percent of the total spaces for electric cars by Dec. 31, 2011. The requirement would increase to 2 percent when at least 5,000 electric vehicles are registered in the state.

The bill also mandates that at least one recharging mechanism be made available in the parking lot.

The bills now go to Gov. Lingle for her review.

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Shai Agassi named to Time 100 list of world's most influential people

Shai Agassi, Founder and CEO of Better Place, the electric car infrastructure start-up, was named today to the Time 100, a list of the world's most influential people.

This is the second year running that a leader of Israel's cleantech industry has been named to the Time 100. Isaac Berzin, founder of GreenFuel Technologies and the Institute for Alternative Energy Resarch at IDC Herzliya, made the list in 2008.


Agassi was born in Ramat Gan, Israel and graduated from Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology, where he received a bachelor’s degree in computer science.

Better Place has raised more than $300 million and is partnering with utilities and governments to install its electric vehicle infrastructure in Israel, Denmark, Australia, Portugal, Ontario, Hawaii, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Better Place's primary R&D center is in Israel.

Alan Salzman, CEO of VantagePoint Venture Partners, a major investor in Better Place, says that Agassi is "the closest we've seen to a Steve Jobs of clean tech — visionary, technologist, businessman. What's it like working with him? Exhilarating, exhausting, challenging, gratifying. He recently turned 41. Wonder what he'll do after transporting us to a better place?"

Agassi was also recently profiled in the New York Times Magazine.

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Better Place and Haifa cooperate on electric car infrastructure

Every new building to be built in Haifa, Israel's third largest city, must include infrastructure compatible with charge spots for electric cars, according to a memorandum of understanding between Better Place and the Municipality of Haifa.

The document was signed by Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav and Better Place Israel CEO Moshe Kaplinsky, according to a March report by Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahranot.


According to the agreement, Haifa will also conduct a three-year pilot study to examine the feasibility of using electric cars and will allow Better Place to build exchange stations and charge spots throughout the city.

"Local authorities' heads are showing much interest in taking part in the electric car project in order to improve the quality of life of their residents," Kaplinsky said last month.

"Mayors understand the need to prepare for the coming of the electric car and to lay out an infrastructure that will, for the first time, allow fast, convenient and available charging. Better Place has already set up 400 charging stations in various cities."

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U.S.-Israel Energy Cooperation Act launches at Eilat Energy Conference

The Unites States – Israel Energy Cooperation Act, an international collaboration aimed at developing renewable energy technologies to reduce the world's oil dependence, officially launched during the recent Eilat-Eilot International Renewable Energy Conference.

The Cooperation Act, which will fund eligible joint ventures between U.S. and Israeli businesses, has already allocated $2 million for 2009 ($1 million from each country), with a significant increase expected in future years. The grant program is targeted at biofuel, solar thermal, and electric vehicle technologies.

"Israel is well-known in the world as a technology innovator. The concentration of scientific innovation in the country is impressive," said Jonathan Shrier, Assistant Secretary, Office of Policy and International Affairs, U.S. Department of Energy. "This cooperation between the United States and Israel is unique in that we have a partner who brings a lot to the table."

Two projects, run by Seambiotic and Better Place, have already received approval.

Seambiotic is developing technology to utilize flue gas from coal burning power stations for algae cultivation. The company aims to grow and process marine microalgae using an ecologically-based environmental system to reduce air pollution and global warming.

Better Place is a venture-backed company aiming to reduce global dependency on oil through the creation of nationwide electric vehicle networks.

The U.S. Department of Energy and Israel's Ministry of National Infrastructures have agreed that a researcher exchange and conference circuit are two important elements of their collaboration. Two conferences in the U.S. and two in Israel will take place annually. The annual conference in Sde Boker, Israel, will focus on the technological advancements in the Renewable Energy industry while the annual Eilat-Eilot conference will serve as a platform for industry-ready technologies to exhibit and market their offerings. In addition, researchers from Israel will spend significant time working in the U.S. market, while researchers from the U.S. will do the same in Israel.

Other announcements made at the Eilat Energy Conference include the launch of the Timna Renewable Energy Park, the centerpiece of the Eilat-Eilot region's efforts to turn Southern Israel into the "Silicon Valley" of renewable energy, and the AORA solar thermal plant in Kibbutz Samar, the world's first commercial hybrid solar gas-turbine power plant.

"The developments presented at the Eilat-Eilot Conference demonstrate the region's leadership in the renewable energy industry," Said Shlomo Wald, Chief Scientist, Ministry of National Infrastructures. "We are taking action to find sustainable solutions to Israel’s and the world's energy crisis, and we hope others see Israel as a major contributor."

For perspectives on the Eilat Energy Conference, check out these blog posts by Gil Dibner, Principal at Genesis Partners, and Rabbi Julian Sinclair of the Jewish Climate Initiative.

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Better Place partners with 19 Israeli companies

Better Place announced that it has signed cooperation agreements with 19 Israeli companies to test the suitability of its electric vehicles for these companies fleets.

In this first stage of Better Place's plant to build a nationwide infrastructure for electric vehicles, Better Place will design charge spots for the companies' electric cars and install them at the companies' parking lots and employees' homes. It will also work with the companies' managers and employees in the design and deployment of the infrastructure in order to optimize and customize them to the needs of each company.



Moshe Kaplinsky, CEO of Better Place Israel, said, "Leading Israeli companies understand the strategic importance of meeting one of the greatest challenges now facing us: our dependence on oil and its effect on our economy, environment, and security. "

Better Place CEO Shai Agassi added, "We are today seeing the certification that there is real market demand for electric cars that will use Better Place's grid. We expect demand to grow as Israeli companies join in the vision, as well as in other countries, which together represent a potential global market of 50 million cars. We see today the tip of the iceberg of global demand."

The participating companies are from the hi-tech, pharmaceuticals, finance and manufacturing sectors. They include Israel Corp, which has invested over $100 million in Better Place, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Pelephone Communications Ltd., Partner Communications Ltd., Matrix IT Ltd., Direct Insurance - Financial Investments Ltd., Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., Netafim Ltd., Keter Plastics Ltd., Orbotech Ltd., juice maker Jafora Tabori Ltd., Manpower Israel Ltd., SQlink Ltd., Nike Israel Ltd., and Glasshouse Technologies Ltd.

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Daniel Jammer establishes €250m cleantech fund

Daniel Jammer, a German Jewish businessman and the owner of the Maccabi Netanya soccer club, has told "Globes" that he has set up a €250 million fund to invest in cleantech.

Jammer, who is attending the Eilat Energy Conference, says that the new fund will focus on three areas of activity: developing batteries for electric vehicles; producing jet fuel from biodiesel; and wind and solar energy.

Jammer said, "I have already held one meeting with Better Place and I recently met with Yom Tov Samia, the CEO of IC Green Energy, [Israel Corp's cleantech investment vehicle]. I hope that we will be able to cooperate in the future."

Jammer said that the new fund's investors include the German insurance, banking and asset management company Allianz and Migdal Insurance and Financial Holdings Ltd.

Jammer said that the €250 milion has already been raised and the fund is now examining its first investments. Discussing the solar energy sector, Jammer said, "There are two or three companies that are very interesting for us. We have not yet decided whether to join them as strategic partners or financial investors."

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IDF considers Better Place infrastructure and electric troop carriers

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is considering developing a quiet electric vehicle for carrying troops and cargo, according to a report in Globes. The vehicle will reportedly have a diesel or gasoline engine to extend its range when the batteries run out.

Elbit Systems Ltd., which has experience building electric motors for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), is apparently a leading contender to develop and supply the electric vehicle.

Globes also reports that the Ministry of Defence is considering installing Better Place's recharging infrastructure at IDF bases, which could be used for the fleet of electric military vehicles, as well as for civilian electric cars when they become available. In March 2008, Better Place named Major General Moshe Kaplinsky, former Deputy Chief of Staff of the IDF, as the CEO of Better Place Israel.

As reported on this blog last year, the IDF already plans to install thousands of Traffilog systems to improve fuel efficiency in its fleet of vehicles.

Last month, the U.S. Army announced plans to lease 4,000 non-tactical electric vehicles for use on Army bases for passenger transport, security patrol, and maintenance and delivery services. In 2007, the U.S. Army awarded a contract for development of a diesel hybrid electric vehicle called the Quantum Alternative Mobility Vehicle (AMV) Aggressor.

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Better Place raises €103 million, names new Danish CEO

Better Place, in conjunction with its Danish utility partner, DONG Energy, announced today it has raised approximately €103 million Euro (770 million Danish Kroner) in equity and convertible debt for the initial deployment of their electric car charging network in Denmark.

Under the terms of the agreement, DONG Energy will assist in the Better Place Denmark network rollout as well as be the preferred supplier of renewable energy to power the network.

In March 2008, Better Place named Better Place Denmark as its second operator following Israel, which recently unveiled its first installed electric charge spots. Starting in 2011 The Renault-Nissan Alliance will begin to commercialize a complete range of electric vehicles adapted to Danish customer requirements

Better Place also named Jens Moberg as Head of Better Place Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Business Development and Chief Executive Officer of Better Place Denmark. As CEO, Mr. Moberg will focus on establishing Denmark as Better Place's first operation in Europe and help expand Better Place to other European countries. He joins Better Place Denmark from Microsoft Corp., where he was responsible for developing and growing Microsoft’s multi-billion dollar enterprise business in Russia, India and China.

Today's announcement follows a series of deals signed by Better Place to construct charging and battery-swapping networks in Australia, California, Canada, Hawaii and Israel.

“With the U.N. Summit on Climate Change around the corner, Denmark has the opportunity to demonstrate to the world what the future of transportation will look like,” said Shai Agassi, Founder and CEO, Better Place. “In Jens Moberg, we’ve selected a world-class business executive to help us implement our model in Denmark, which will serve as a showcase for Europe and the rest of the world as they come to Copenhagen for COP15 in December.”

“Our goal in investing in Better Place Denmark is to help reduce CO2 emissions and increase the consumption of sustainable energy by capturing and leveraging wind power more efficiently,” said Anders Eldrup, CEO and President, DONG Energy. “Under Jens Moberg’s leadership, we look forward to making the Better Place vision a reality in Denmark for the entire world to see.”

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Launching the Boston Israel Cleantech Alliance

I moved from Tel Aviv to Boston last month to begin working as an associate in the Business Law Department of Goodwin Procter LLP, a law firm with a substantial Clean Tech Practice.

Boston, like Israel, is emerging as a leading hub for cleantech research, development, and entrepreneurship. The Boston Israel Cleantech Alliance will be working to connect cleantech investors, entrepreneurs, academic researchers and government officials in both places, and the group is helping organize a number of upcoming events.

Israel Cleantech Investor Conference

On October 28, 16 Israeli cleantech venture capital funds and startups traveled to New York and Boston to meet with private equity, venture capital, and angel investors.

Participating startups included Aquapure Technologies Ltd., Aquatal Ltd., Cequesta Water Ltd., CheckLight Ltd., Coriolis Wind Ltd., CQM Technologies Ltd., En Gibton Ltd., Engineuity Ltd., EPC Wastewater Solution Ltd., Leviathan Energy Ltd., and RealiteQ Ltd.

The Israeli cleantech funds were: AquAgro Fund LP and its parent Gaon Agro Industries Ltd., BDB Technologies & Hi-Tech Investments Ltd., Israel Cleantech Ventures, MIYA, Precede Technologies Ltd., and Whitewater Technology Group.

In Boston, each participant made a 10-minute presentation in the morning and had an opportunity to meet one-on-one with investors like North Bridge Venture Partners and Atlas Venture in the afternoon. A formal reception in the evening included a presentation by Booky Oren, CEO of MIYA and Chairman of WATEC 2009, and a keynote address by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick.

You can read press coverage of the events in the Jerusalem Post and Globes and view photos online.

Environmental Symposia Featuring Experts from Ben Gurion University

On November 12, three professors from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev will be in Boston to give presentations on their respective cleantech-related fields of expertise. Prof. David Faiman, who is also CTO of ZenithSolar, will speak about solar energy; Prof. Isaac Meir will discuss "green" architecture; and Prof. Zeev Wiesman speak about biofuels.

You can find more information about the lunchtime and evening symposiums and RSVP at the Boston Israel Cleantech Alliance meetup page.

Biofuels: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - A Presentation by Dr. Isaac Berzin

Dr. Isaac Berzin is the founder of Cambridge-based GreenFuel Technologies -- a venture-backed developer of algae-based biofuels -- and the founding director of the Institute for Alternative Energy Policy at the IDC in Herzliya, Israel. Earlier this year, Dr. Berzin was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in politics, business, and science.

Back in June, I had the honor of hosting Dr. Berzin at a CleanIsrael meetup event in Ramat Hasharon.

On November 20th, Dr. Berzin will speak to an audience of venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and graduate students at Harvard Business School. The event is sponsored by Goodwin Procter LLP and Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP), in collaboration with the HBS Business & Environment Club, Harvard Kennedy School's Israel Caucus, MIT-Israel Program, and the New England Israel Business Council. You can find out more and RSVP at the event's meetup page.

Shai Agassi, CEO of Better Place

Shai Agassi of Better Place is scheduled to visit Boston on December 3rd and 4th. Stay tuned for more details.

Better Place and Hawaii to partner on electric car project

According to an announcement by Hawaii's Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT), the state will partner with Better Place to evaluate "the integration of electric vehicle storage into the electrical grid to maximize renewable energy use."

Hawaii has secured $1.7 million in grants, including a $500,000 grant from the federal Department of Energy, to fund this and other projects to advance the use of renewable energy in the state.

Lt. Governor James R. "Duke" Aiona, Jr. said, "Our Administration is committed to breaking Hawaii's dependency on imported oil and reducing greenhouse gas emissions through developing clean sources of energy. This public-private partnership will further Hawaii's efforts to modernize our electrical infrastructure and distribution system and help increase the energy security of our state."

This latest development, which has not yet been picked up by the media, would seem to confirm the recent reports, such as this article in Globes, that Better Place is near an agreement with Hawaii.

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Shai Agassi, Better Place, featured in Wired Magazine

Shai Agassi, the founder and CEO of Better Place, is on the cover of the most recent issue of Wired Magazine. The article, “Shai Agassi's Audacious Plan to Put Electric Cars on the Road,” is a must read for anyone interested in Shai Agassi, the origins of Better Place, and the politics and economics of electric vehicles.


Highlights include:

A Q&A with Israeli President Shimon Peres, who contends that Israel can be a global cleantech R&D center

A description of AutoOS, the Better Place operating system, and how it will transform the transportation grid. AuotOS will serve as an energy monitor, GPS unit, help center, and personal assistant, packed into an onboard PC that will also hold cellular and Wi-Fi chips.

Details of Agassi’s efforts, along with venture capitalist Michael Granoff, Better Place’s earliest investor and its head of oil independence policies, to lobby the U.S. government to create incentives for electric cars

An inside look at a Better Place meeting in Tel Aviv to determine the design of the company’s charge spots

A test drive of a Better Place prototype with the company’s chief engineers

News that Better Place is in discussions with Chery Automobile, the massive Chinese auto company, and is eyeing the Chinese market. (Israel Corp., which has invested $130 million in Better Place, has a joint venture with Chery Automobile, and Idan Ofer is Chairman of both Israel Corp. and Better Place.)

News that Better Place is raising $160 million to roll out the Electric Vehicle Recharge Operator in Denmark. (The company has already raised $200 million.)

Confirmation that Agassi has flown to Honolulu to meet with the Governor of Hawaii, which might become the first place in the U.S. to sign an agreement with Better Place.

Better Place names Israeli firm to oversee recharing infrastructure

In other news, Globes reports that Better Place has selected Massad Oz Management & Supervision Ltd. to manage the pilot recharging infrastructure deployment for the company's electric car venture. Massad Oz will set up the recharging infrastructure in Tel Aviv parking lots in the coming months.

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NY Times and Ha'aretz on Israeli cleantech

In case you missed it, New York Times columnist Tom Friedman wrote an excellent column last week entitled "From Texas to Tel Aviv." Friedman discusses Better Place and its founder, Shai Agassi, who he describes as a cross between Henry Ford and Yitzhak Rabin.

My favorite line: "Agassi is a passionate salesman for his vision. He could sell camels to Saudi Arabia."

For Shai's reaction to the column, and the back story on his relationship with Tom Friedman, check out his blog, "The Long Tailpipe."

A good friend of mine, Ben Grossman, has more to say about the column at his Sustainable Ink blog. Ben is the Director of the Green Marketing and Sustainability Practice at Grossman Marketing Group, based in Boston. If you are interested in green marketing strategies, Ben is a great resource.

It is also worth taking a look at a recent article in Ha'aretz, entitled "Beyond the Age of Oil", by Sarah Kass of the Avi Chai Foundation. Kass writes about what the transition away from oil will mean for Israel, the Middle East, and the rest of the world.

Cleantech attracts foreign investment

"From cutting-edge geothermal power deep underground to wind turbines and solar panels capturing energy from the sky above, foreign investors are pouring money into Israel's growing clean tech sector."

This is the opening paragraph in an article recently published by the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles.

The article provides an overview of Israel's cleantech sector and focuses on the importance of the United States, both as an export market for clean technologies and a source of funds for cleantech VCs and startups.

It includes quotes from Michael Granoff, President of NY-based Maniv Energy Capital and an investor in Project Better Place; David Rosenblatt, Vice Chairman of the Arava Power Company; Glen Schwaber, Partner at Israel Cleantech Ventures; Stacy Schusterman, CEO of the Samson Investment Co. and a major Jewish philanthropist; Assaf Barnea, CEO of the Kinrot Water Technology Incubator; and Jonathan Shapira, the author of this blog.

If you want to meet Assaf Barnea and learn more about water technologies in Israel, please sign up for the Cleantech Israel business network and attend our next event on July 29.

Better Place electric cars may be produced in Israel

Gabriel Mimon, the director general of the Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry, reportedly plans to meet with Shai Agassi to discuss the possibility of manufacturing electric cars in Israel. In exchange for manufacturing the electric cars in Israel, Agassi's company, Project Better Place, could receive hundreds of millions of shekels in government grants.

The scheduled meeting with Mimon will follow what is described, according to a report in Ha'aretz, as a "private" meeting between Agassi and Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Eli Yishai.

During the meeting, Agassi noted that research and development for the electric cars will take place in Israel whereas production will likely be outsourced to another country. He said that a number of countries are interested in hosting the production and have offered benefits including investment grants.

But Yishai emphasized the importance of production remaining in Israel, and the two discussed the benefits the government will be asked to provide to make such production feasible.

In January 2008, Better Place announced a memorandum of understanding with Renault-Nissan to build a nationwide electric vehicle recharge grid in Israel. In March, the company declared the Israel would be its primary R&D center.

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Project Better Place presents prototype car in Tel Aviv

Project Better Place declares Israel as primary R&D center

Israel set to adopt electric cars produced by Renault-Nissan and Project Better Place

Portugal in talks with Project Better Place

Prime Minister Jose Socrates will soon sign an agreement for Portugal to join the Better Place electric car project backed by Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co, Diario Economico reported without naming its sources.

Project Better Place has already signed agreements to build electric vehicle recharge grids in Denmark and Israel, and the company has raised $200 million from investors including VantagePoint Venture Partners, Israel Corp., and Maniv Energy Capital.

Last week, Better Place CEO Shai Agassi testified before the U.S. Congress' Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. The topic of the hearing was “$4 Gasoline and Fuel Economy: Auto Industry at a Crossroads”.

In his testimony, Agassi revealed that Better Place is "in active discussions with more than 30 other countries, and with dozens of regions, provinces, states and large cities." He added that he expects four to six other countries or regions to sign agreements with Better Place in the coming months, just as Israel and Denmark have already done.

Better Place has not yet responded to today's news report, but it sounds like Portugal may be next.

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Dassault interested in Project Better Place

Dassault Group, the French aerospace and software giant, is seeking co-investment opportunities in Israel, while also examining possibilities in the Project Better Place electric car venture.

"The electric car market is the future. We are studying the possibility of joint projects regarding development," Laurent Dassault, the company's vice chairman, told The Jerusalem Post in an interview at the France-Israel business forum in Jerusalem on Tuesday. "During the visit in Israel I met up with Idan Ofer [Chairman of Project Better Place] to discuss possibilities."

Dassault came to Israel this week as part of the business delegation accompanying French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Project Better Place in talks with Mercedes, Hawaii, and San Francisco

Daimler, the parent of Mercedes-Benz, is in talks with Shai Agassi and Project Better Place regarding the company's plan to create a mass-market infrastructure for electric cars. Mercedes' CEO Dieter Zetsche revealed the talks in a newspaper interview published in Germany earlier today. Zetsche also said that Mercedes-Benz plans to manufacture a model that runs on electricity in 2010.

In January 2008, Better Place announced a Memorandum of Understanding with Renault-Nissan to build an electric recharge grid in Israel. Under the agreement, Better Place will build the electric recharge grid, and Renault-Nissan will provide the electric vehicles. Renault-Nissan apparently does not have an exclusive right to produce electric vehicles for Better Place, and it will be interesting to see what develops with Mercedes.

Hawaii and San Francisco up next?

I recently had the opportunity to hear a presentation by Ziva Patir, head of Better Place's international standardization efforts since her appointment was announced in April. Patir revealed that Better Place is near an agreement with the State of Hawaii. If the talks are successful, this would be another impressive accomplishment for Better Place, giving it a foothold the world's largest car market.

In an April appearance on a local radio show, Hawaii's Governor Linda Lingle said that the state was indeed in discussions with Project Better Place.

Furthermore, Earth2Tech reported in May that San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom met with Better Place Israel CEO Moshe Kaplinsky and Chairman Idan Ofer while in Israel. Newsom reportedly offered to work with the company to build an electric recharge grid in San Francisco.

In Better Place's October 2007 white paper, "The Future of Transportation", Shai Agassi stated that to set the right conditions for the creation of a massive electric recharge grid in the United States, the federal government will need to increase taxes on cars, based on carbon emissions, and tax fuel to bring the price up to roughly $4.50 a gallon.

Even without federal intervention, however, gas prices have now reached a statewide average of $4.31 in Hawaii and $4.60 in California. We may have already reached the point where the company's business model will work in certain niche markets -- transportation islands like Hawaii, and densely populated, highly-trafficed urban areas such as San Francisco.

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