Electric car venture Better Place has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with one of the two major national power companies in China, China Southern Power Grid Company Limited. The Chinese company, based in Guangzhou, ranks 156th in the Fortune 500 list of the world's biggest companies. It had revenue last year of $57 billion. The company provides power to an area of a million square kilometers which is home to some 250 million people.
The nature of the collaboration has not yet been revealed, but it will probably focus on developing smart grid technology that can support charging vehicles and storage of electricity, and on development of charging stations. The Chinese press says that the collaboration will probably not include implementation of Better Place's battery replacement station technology. The State Grid Corporation of China is now actively engaged in deploying electric vehicle charging infrastructure in several cities in its area of operations, as part of a Chinese government master plan.
Industry sources say that the agreement represents an important breakthrough into the Chinese market both for Better Place and for Israel Corporation, its main shareholder, which seeks to expand its power production operations worldwide.
Better Place declined to comment.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 21, 2011
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