Better Place Juices Up $350M

Better Place on Monday scored $350 million in funding to boost development of its global network of battery services for all-electric vehicles.

Palo, Alto, California-based Better Place had previously raised $200 million in October 2007. The new round was at a $1.25 billion post-money valuation.

“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,” said Stuart Gulliver, executive director of HSBC Holdings, in a statement.

Funding was led by HSBC Group and was joined by Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Lazard Asset Management, Israel Corp, VantagePoint Venture Parnters, Ofer Hi-Tech Holdings, Morgan Stanley Principal Invesments, and Maniv Energy Capital.

Better Place is working on a network of swappable batteries and services for all-electric cars. The company plans to plans to have a service network in place for Renault-built electric cars by the end of 2011 in Israel and Denmark.

Under the deal, Kevin Adeson, HSBC’s chief of global capital financing, will join the company’s board of directors. HSBC’s investment gives it a 10 percent ownership position.

Better Place is not the only upstart focused on battery-swapping stations and services. China’s GreenTech Energy Tech, a startup so far bankrolled mostly by its founder, has similar ambitions for cities across China. Green Tech Energy is looking at partnerships with gas stations to distribute charged batteries for cars that come in and wants to develop charge stations that can provide a quick recharge in about 20 minutes.

GreenTech Energy Tech is a Red Herring Global 100 winner.

Source : Redherring.com, 25/01/10