Globes: Better Place secures 40m euro EIB loan
28 August 12 12:07–Shai Agassi’s electric car venture Better Place Inc. has secured a €40 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The company will use €30 million of the loan to complete the deployment of its battery replacement network and finance operations in Denmark, and it will use €10 million for the same purposes in Israel.
The EIB loan is Better Place’s fourth major commitment from a European financial institution for the expansion of its European operations. A subsidiary of Israel Corporation (TASE: ILCO), the company is also backed by HSBC Holding plc (LSE: HSBA; HKSE: 005; NYSE, Paris: HBC). It has raised $750 million in equity to date.
Better Place said that in Israel, its first market, more than half of the planned network of battery switch stations is now available for use by customers, enabling drivers the freedom to drive across the country.
In Denmark, the company has completed the network of battery switch stations along the Copenhagen-Aarhus corridor, a key national route. The first Copenhagen battery switch station in the Danish network, and soon a second one in Amsterdam, are part of a de-carbonization infrastructure project co-financed by the EU’s TEN-T program, Greening European Transportation Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles. Better Place also participates in the European Commission’s sustainable mobility project, Green eMotion, which is part of the European Green Car Initiative…Read More>>
