Nissan’s wireless EV charging could leave Coulomb, Better Place in the dust
Electric vehicles have come a long way in the last two years. Tesla Motors and Fisker Automotive have proven that EVs can be fast and decently ranged, even sexy. Nissan is promising to make them fairly cheap. General Motors is working on something any flag waving urban American would be proud to drive. But there’s still one hitch: battery technology — we don’t have anything better than the lithium-ion cells currently in use, and only… Continue Reading
Trilliant, ABB partner to make Smart Grid technologies interoperable
Trilliant, provider of communications infrastructure used to beam energy consumption data between so-called smart meters, utilities and their customers, announced today that it is partnering with automation company ABB to make sure their technologies can talk to one another. This type of interoperability is one of the major issues impacting how and how fast the Smart Grid — a cleaner, more efficient electrical grid — takes hold in the U.S.
It seem to be all the… Continue Reading
IBM launches software to standardize, accelerate smart grid startups
As large companies like Intel, Cisco and AT&T eye participation in the new, emerging Smart Grid, IBM has jumped in with both feet — providing software that greases the wheels of grid development and pouring $2 billion into startups and utilities building out a cleaner, more efficient grid. Today, it expanded its presence even more with the launch of its Solution Architecture for Energy and Utilities Framework (SAFE) for startups, a software package intended to… Continue Reading
DOE juices battery companies with $2.4B in stimulus funds
After months of applications and speculation, the U.S. Department of Energy has finally announced the winners of the $2.4 billion in stimulus grants earmarked for the advanced battery industry. With a tight focus on batteries tailored to next-generation cars, the department used the money to once again prop up the country’s ailing automotive royalty — setting them up as natural leaders in the battery sector going forward.
General Motors, for example, is slated to received upwards… Continue Reading
Coulomb brings electric vehicle charging stations to Sacramento
Coulomb Technologies, maker of networked electric vehicle charging stations, is gradually growing its presence in and around the Bay Area — it already has a significant number of stations in San Francisco, San Jose and Walnut Creek, for example. Today, it officially arrives in the state capital, Sacramento, where green development firm DMC Green has opened the first of 40 contracted stations that will use Coulomb technology.
DMC Green is a research, development and installation firm… Continue Reading
McDonald’s attempts to go green with help from EV charging co. Coulomb
McDonald’s — battered by almost constant criticism of its negative nutritional and environmental impacts — is attempting to turn the tide by opening its first “green” restaurant. Built with sustainable materials and integrating eco-friendly technology, this one McDonald’s will notably include electric car charging stations provided by Campbell, Calif.-based (and Better Place competitor) Coulomb Technologies.
EV charging and the fast food chain may seem like an odd combination — after all, it hasn’t introduced gas pumps… Continue Reading
Vehicle sharing service Zipcar brings plug-in hybrids on board
Zipcar, the Cambridge, Mass.-based company that allows users to rent cars online without ever speaking to an agent, has added plug-in hybrid vehicles to its San Francisco fleet. This is part of a national pilot program to increase public awarenss of new electric vehicle technology, says the service, which integrated hybrid vehicles in 2003.
Essentially, this pilot will allow one of the greenest cities in the country to test-drive the cars of the future, Zipcar executives… Continue Reading
Coulomb vies with Better Place to build electric car charging stations
The field of companies looking to establish networks of electric vehicle charging stations has become quite the horse race. And a relatively recent addition, Coulomb Technologies, has taken on reigning Silicon Valley firm Better Place with a new, grassroots business strategy targeting gas stations, government agencies and shopping centers.
Campbell, Calif.-based Coulomb is in the spotlight today, having raised $3.75 million in a first round of funding from German backer Estag Capital — a round expected… Continue Reading