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Better Place Secures More Funding

EV infrastructure developer Better Place announced today it managed to secure an extra $350 million in fresh equity as part of a second round of financing aimed at making the company fully operational by 2011, when Renault, its partner, will be ready to launch the first electric vehicle, the Fluence ZE.

The money comes from nine investors, including HSBC, Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Lazard Asset Management. HSBC alone invested $125 million and acquired 10 percent of Better Place.

"This is one of the largest investments made yet in the 'clean tech' sector. The value of Better Place is now estimated at $1.25bn," Better Place says in a statement quoted by just-auto.com.

"We are absolutely convinced that the paradigm change from cars with internal combustion engines to electric vehicles offers great possibilities for growth both in the auto industry as well as for utilities," Stuart Gulliver, HSBC executive director and head of global banking and markets business added.

Renault and Better Place signed a definitive agreement to insure the success of the Fluence ZE back in September. The car will be distributed, at first, in Israel and Denmark in the first half of 2011. The two parties have agreed to sell no less than 100.000 vehicles for both countries by 2016.

The Fluence ZE, the car at the center of the agreement, is powered by an electric motor that develops 95 horsepower and 226 Nm of torque and comes with a lithium-ion battery that ensures a range of 160 km.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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