First published in Cleantech magazine Issue 4 2011. Copyright Cleantech Investor Ltd.
We are delighted to work with Revolve and the Bridgestone Eco-Rally team to produce this special issue of Cleantech magazine. This year the Eco-Rally starts in Oxford, close to the heart of the British motor industry. The Eco-Rally seeks to showcase the best in innovation in eco transport - and much of that innovation is taking place in and around Oxford and neighbouring counties.
Many of the Eco-Rally participants are based in the Oxford region, which is a hub for clean automotive and related industries. A company working in one such industry is Infineum, which is profiled in this issue of the magazine. Infineum is a world leader in additives for lubricants - which have an important role to play in reducing emissions and improving fuel economy, not just in the existing vehicle fleet, but also in the hybrid, plug in hybrid and biofuel vehicles.
Electric vehicles are taking off and a charging infrastructure is being rolled out in many regions around the UK. The city of Oxford has installed EV charging points and is testing electric vehicles in a partnership with the BMW MiniE. In this issue we include a feature entitled ‘Towards a National Charging Infrastructure’ by Louise Woodward of Cenex, which discusses how the Midlands, north of Oxford, is becoming a ‘Plugged in Place’. EV drivers are being offered more and more choices for recharging and an industry is growing up around charging points, with a host of new companies emerging - some of which will provide the electricity for the EVs participating in this year’s Eco-Rally.
This issue is serving a double purpose - a programme for the Bridgestone Eco-Rally, which is being distributed to our regular readers. We have included a host of information on the innovation being showcased by the Bridgestone Eco-Rally, which should be valuable to investors and professionals in the cleantech sector, as well as of interest to the participants in the event. It is worth highlighting that the Eco-Rally spotlights innovation in building technology as well as transport technology. We can only provide a taste of the innovation which has contributed to the Eco-Rally, in Oxford, London and elsewhere. A host of additional information is available on the Eco-Rally website: www.eco-rally.org
Regular readers may note that this issue doesn’t incude the usual section of private equity and venture capital deals. We will shortly publish a separate issue with extended coverage of deals and fund raisings in the cleantech industry.
Anne McIvor
July 2011
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