Tyler Savage on Thursday, 15 July 2010 21:43

GE introduces WattStation and establishes $200 million for clean-energy innovation

The world of electric vehicles received another boost as General Electric introduced its own version of an EV charger to the public. GE's WattStation is expected to rollout in 2011 and will likely be just one of many more clean technologies to come as the company plans to double its spending for research and development to $10 billion from 2010 to 2015.

GE also announced that it will provide $200 million for a clean-energy contest to spur innovation in the sector.  Venture capitalists RockPort Capital and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, which both have offices in Menlo Park and fund Bay Area companies like Solyndra and Silver Spring Networks, are helping to fund and sponsor the clean-energy contest.

"GE, one of the world's biggest companies, with a large stake in the electricity industry, touted what it called the "GE ecomagination challenge" in an event that also featured venture capital firms that are teaming up on the project, which will promote production of clean energy and energy efficiency."

GE's entry is a direct challenge to BACC partners Coulomb Technologies and Better Place.  Coulomb received federal funding for the ChargePoint America project which will allow nearly 5,000 Coulomb ChargePoint stations to be installed in nine regions across the US.  Also, Better Place, which specializes in battery switch stations, has made inroads in Asia and Europe through partnerships with Chinese automaker Chery and the Renault-Nissan Alliance.  Coulomb and Better Place are no doubt making significant progress, though with GE's announcement it will certainly increase competition in a growing market.