ECOtality, Inc., headquartered in San Francisco, California, was an electric transportation and storage technologies company. ECOtality was the parent company of ECOtality North America, Innergy Power Corporation, Fuel Cell Store and ECOtality Australia Pty Ltd.
Ecotality, Inc. was a provider of electric transportation and storage technologies. The Company provided electric vehicle infrastructure products and solutions that are used in on-road, grid-connected vehicles (including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and battery electric vehicles), material handling and airport electric ground support applications. Through its main operating subsidiary, Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation (eTec), the Company's primary product offering was the Minit-Charger line of advanced battery fast-charge systems that are designed for various motive applications. In addition to its electric transportation focus, Ecotality, Inc. was also involved in the development, manufacture, assembly and sale of specialty solar products, advanced battery systems, and hydrogen and fuel cell systems. Its subsidiaries and primary operating segments consisted of eTec, Innergy Power Corporation (Innergy), and ECOtality Stores (doing business as Fuel Cell Store).
On September 16, 2013 it filed for bankruptcy protection under
Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...
. In October 2013, the Car Charging Group, Inc. announced that it had purchased Ecotality's Blink network of charging stations for $3.3 million. Two Ecotality branches—Minit-Charger and Etec Labs—were not included in the purchase: Minit-Charger manufactures quick-charging systems for commercial applications, and Etec Labs conducts tests for the government and OEMs. They were purchased by Access Control and Intertek, respectively.
EV Project
ECOtality North America (formerly eTec), a wholly owned subsidiary of ECOtality, was awarded $99.9M from the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the Gr ...
by the
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...
for The EV Project.
Officially launched in October 2009, The EV Project is an infrastructure study, the focus of which is to examine various situations involving EV drivers and charging infrastructure.
Charging stations
ECOtality sells electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) through its customer-facing brand of smart electric vehicle chargers, Blink. The Blink line of chargers includes Level 2 AC Wall Mount chargers, Level 2 AC Pedestal chargers, and Level 2 DC Fast Chargers. The Blink Network encompasses the Blink line of charging stations, as well as the Blink mobile app and website, where customers can access personal charging statistics, charger maps, and account information.
Partnerships
ECOtality has announced partnerships with several retail hosts who will install Blink chargers, several of which are partnered as part of The EV Project. Partners include: Idaho National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, IKEA USA, Fred Meyer, Arco/BP, Macy's, Cracker Barrel, San Diego Gas & Electric, and more.
In 2011, ECOtality announced that it would partner with ABB, who invested $10 million into the company to develop EV initiatives in North America.
ECOtality also announced a partnership with Jones Lang LaSalle in 2011, in an effort to identify additional commercial retail hosts for the installation of Blink chargers.
Collaboratev is a joint project between ECOtality and
ChargePoint
ChargePoint (formerly Coulomb Technologies) is an American electric vehicle infrastructure company based in Campbell, California. ChargePoint operates the largest online network of independently owned EV charging stations operating in 14 countr ...
.
Innergy Power Corporation
Innergy Power Corporation designs and manufactures thin sealed lead batteries and high-quality flat-panel multicrystalline PV solar modules. In addition, Innergy is developing EV battery technology and designing/building battery packs in
SLA,
NiMH NIMH may refer to:
*Nickel–metal hydride battery (NiMH), a type of electrical battery
*National Institute of Mental Health, an agency of the United States government
*National Institute of Medical Herbalists, a professional organisation in the Un ...
and
Li chemistries.
Fuel Cell Store
Founded in Boulder, Colorado in 1999, Fuel Cell Store is a provider of information, educational products, and services related to the fuel cell industry.
Fuel Cell Store was purchased out of the ECOtality bankruptcy in late 2013 and moved to College Station, Texas where it continues to operate and grow as the world's largest and oldest online retailer of fuel cell components.
References
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External links
ECOtality
Companies based in California
Charging stations
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2013