More venture capital will be invested in innovative greentech firms. Continued investment is needed to bring us the next generation of batteries, solid state lighting, smart grid components, electric cars, lighter and stronger materials, and solar power. Forty IPOs of venture-backed firms were predicted for 2010 and 600 through M&A.
UPS manages a fleet that includes more than 1,000 electric and hybrid electric vehicles, as part of its “Rolling Laboratory” of approximately 9,300 alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles.
The Verge Conference and Expo , presented by GreenBiz, brings together experts from companies and utilities, city and regional governments, policy makers, NGOs, solution providers and startups.
Toyota, Ford, and Tesla have intensified the battle for electric car leadership. How will U.S. electric buyers vote with their pocketbooks for electric cars? See the list of Best Electric Cars and Plug-in Hybrids for 2014.
Google (GOOG) continues to build a permanent advantage over Facebook (FB) with cloud services, Android’s 56 percent share of smartphones, and an extensive mobile platform. Last week, I joined hundreds of investment bankers, venture capitalists, and technology leaders at the Always On Innovation Summit where the future of the internet, cloud services, and mobility were hotly debated.
California is the leading state for the early adoption of electric cars. California is the first state with 10,000 electric cars. These California EVs are primarily charged in home garages, but their range is extended with 2,000 installed charge points. By 2014, 50,000 electric cars will be on California roads supported by 10,000 charged points.
Electric vehicle wireless charging is now in use by electric cars, taxis, buses, car sharing, and racing teams. Is charging without plug connection in all of our future, or just special fleets? In Italy, over 30 buses on fixed routes in Genoa and Turin take advantage of wireless charging at bus stops to make electric transit a reality. As it readies for the Olympics, the city of London will include a new wireless pilot program that includes taxis using Qualcomm Halo technology.
Fifty years ago my folks drove a gas-guzzler that got 10 miles per gallon. The air we breathed in the LA area damaged our lungs with the same impact as smoking a pack a day. We did not realize that our drinking water included DDT sprayed on local orange groves and traces of other dangerous toxins. In 1962, biologist Rachel Carson published Silent Spring. Her book inspired broad bi-partisan support for Governor Ronald Reagan to establish the California Air Resources Board and President Richard Nixon to establish the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
California already has over 10,000 of the new electric vehicles on the road and 2,000 public charge points. Over 10,000 new electric charge points will be added to give EV drivers added range. The charge stations will be built by NRG with private money, not public funds.
“The electric car doesn’t do any good because it’s just powered by coal” gets repeated by the oil industry, by news pundits who ignore fact checking, and even by some environmentalists. I have yet to meet an electric car driver or fleet manager who only uses coal power. In the United States, 36 states have utility scale wind power.