China’s Beijing Automotive Industry Corp – BAIC – is owned by the Beijing Municipal government. Given the central government’s plan to produce millions of electric vehicles, an automaker owned by its hometown should be at the forefront of electric vehicle production right?
Alysha Webb knows a great deal about the electric vehicles market and the role that China plays in it. I’ve met her at numerous auto shows, and I look forward to reading her always-informative blog posts.
But her current piece on Fisker Automotive and how the Chinese company Wanxiang’s buyout of bankrupt A123 (lithium ion battery manufacturer) might affect
Thank billions in government funding for helping to lift clean technology investment in the third quarter, said the Cleantech Group and Deloitte in a report Wednesday.
The quarterly analysis reiterated that the recession has kicked but not killed investments in this sector, which remain down 42 percent from the third quarter of 2008. Biotech and IT combined receive less funding than clean tech, which continues its climb from the second quarter, the report noted.
“The two largest venture deals (Solyndra and Tesla Motors) and the largest IPO (A123Systems) this quarter were all recipients of U.S. government funding,” said Cleantech Group managing director Dallas Kachan in a statement.
Last night I had the dubious distinction of being the guy sitting next to former director of the CIA, Ambassador, and Undersecretary of the Navy (a post he held before I was born), and current Senior Vice President of Booz Allen Hamilton and partner at Vantage Point Venture Partners, R. James Woolsey.
He has a fairly clear message that he is happy to share with anyone that will listen:
The United States is at grave risk to both “malignant” and “malevolent” disruptions to the grid and that threat can be addressed through distributed renewable generation which can simultaneously reduce the importance of oil to the ignominious fall from grace of salt.
I have had the pleasure of hearing him speak and spending some time with him before moderating last night’s event, and despite how highly I thought of him before, he did not disappoint. His is a decidedly aggressive approach to the US’ energy future, and like the well trained litigator he is, he presents his case very well. Electric vehicles and distributed renewables are the hallmarks of an utopian (utopic?) energy future, that would leave OPEC states reeling with the need to find, as he puts it, honest work, and reducing the disposable cash reserves some currently use to fund terrorist activities.
I hope that by now it is widely understood, at least by this audience, that the future of Clean Technologies is strong. In case you were still wondering why… I would like to pick out a few headlines from the front page of yesterday’s Wall Street Journal.
Oil Industry Braces for Drop in US Thirst for Gasoline
Shell Said it is Shutting Flow
GM’s Bankruptcy likely to be challenged
Car-Battery Maker A123 is expected to announce $69M Raise
Snipers Kill Pirates, Save Captain
China Pledges $25Bn to SE Asia Economies
Social Responsible Funds still drawing investor Dollars
Asian Shares Spike