You can
pick the pioneers out of a crowd, the old saying goes. They’re the ones with
the arrows in their backs. Bloomberg New Energy Finance made it official
recently by naming 10 “2012
New Energy Pioneers.”
One was
ECOtality, the maker of EV charging stations and one of two companies driving
the Department of Energy’s national “The EV Project.”
Smarter
Grid Solutions, Tendril Networks and Xtreme Power were among the other nine
honorees.
So, where
precisely, are those “arrows” landing? Thus far, they are in the backs of
shareholders. ECOtality’s stock, which traded above the $5 range briefly in May
2011, and above $2 in October, closed March 23 at $1.05.
ABB,
which last year made a $14 million investment in ECOtality, said earlier this
month that it signed a $5 million “non-exclusive licensing agreement” with the
EV charger maker, giving it access to the Blink Network. In addition, ABB
purchased $5 million of ECOtality’s convertible debt.
Wireless
Ronin of Minneapolis, which says it is a “marketing technologies solution
provider,” said it will “support the media and advertising capabilities” for
the Blink network. Now in a pilot phase, the deal will see RoninCast digital
signage solutions employed at DC Fast Charge systems ECOtality is now deploying
in 18 U.S. metro areas.