Envia raises $3.2M for lithium ion batteries
Envia Systems, a company that provides energy storage services via lithium ion batteries, took $3.2 million in first-round funding from Bay Partners and Redpoint Ventures. The Hayward, Calif.-based firm hopes to integrated its technology into cleantech applications, particularly electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.
The adoption of lithium-ion batteries over heavier nickel-cadmium batteries has pushed electric car development forward, but they are still said to still be prohibitively expensive for regular use. Envia also faces competition from battery developer A123Systems, which just received a sixth round of backing from General Electric Commercial Finance for technology to be used in hybrid cars.
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About the Author, Camille Ricketts
Camille is the lead writer for GreenBeat. She came to VentureBeat from Google where she worked on its traditional platforms team, particularly in TV. Before that, she was a reporter for the Wall Street Journal in New York and London. Follow her on Twitter at @camillericketts, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.
With GreenBeat 2009, VentureBeat's all-star conference on all things Smart Grid, coming up in November, Camille will be expanding coverage of this exciting space. Stay up to date by following @greenbeat2009 on Twitter or by becoming a fan of the event on Facebook here.