A group of equity investors led by HSBC agreed this week to provide $350 million in funding to electric vehicle infrastructure start-up Better Place, which plans to deploy nationwide networks of charging points and battery exchange stations in Israel and Denmark by the end of 2011, with smaller regional networks in Australia and California the following year. Better Place, based in Palo Alto, CA, says it is ...

The South Carolina Department of Commerce and the Economic Development Partnership have announced that MTU Detroit Diesel Inc. is planning to establish the company’s new manufacturing facility in Aiken County.  MTU Detroit Diesel Inc., a subsidiary of the German-based and stock market listed Tognum Group, anticipates that its expansion project will require a $45 million investment and the creation of 250 ne ...

In the past few months, we’ve written about numerous plant closings and consolidations. So it was very refreshing to receive this report from the Bluegrass State, describing how a management team at a soon-to-be-shuttered Komatsu plant in Lexington took matters into their own hands—the Komatsu managers teamed up with the Bluegrass Business Development Partnership (BBDP) and found another manufacturing conce ...

Utah's first business incubator focused on renewable energy has begun operations at University Plaza, near the campus of Dixie State College. A collaborative effort spearheaded by the Utah Science Technology and Research initiative, the Southern Utah Information Technology and Renewable Energy Incubator is designed to help Utah join several other states and cities investing in the start-up of new businesses ...

John Morrell & Co. has announced it is permanently closing its hog processing and fresh meat fabrication plant located in Sioux City, Iowa, effective April 20, 2010. The Sioux City plant processes hogs and produces boneless loins and other fresh pork products. John Morrell is a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods, Inc. "We deeply regret having to close this facility," said Joseph B. Sebring, president of Joh ...

Switzerland says it scored 37 new or expanded investments from North America in 2009. ...

We have all been shocked by the scenes of devastation that have emerged from the disaster in Haiti. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake which struck the Caribbean nation on Tuesday has leveled Port au Prince, a city of three million. Thousands of people have been killed or injured, and food, water and medical supplies are quickly running out. The United States is mobilizing a massive relief effort and dozens of ma ...

A study funded by Heinz Endowments and undertaken by non-profit Good Jobs First has questioned the value of Pennsylvania’s use of large tax breaks to lure high-tech business to the state and keep existing players from relocating. The 94-page study, called “Growing Pennsylvania’s High Tech Economy: Choosing Effective Investments,” released today, compared Pennsylvania’s incentives and job-creation results wi ...

Much has been made in recent months about the gloomy economic landscape in Detroit. Based on double-digit unemployment statistics, Michigan and its auto-based economy have been at the epicenter of the Great Recession. We are pleased to report that the denizens of Motown are not wasting time dwelling on the drumbeat of bad news. They are busy laying the foundation for a Renaissance of economic development. N ...

ESolar Inc., Pasadena, CA,  signed an agreement last week to build a series of solar thermal power plants in China with a total capacity of 2,000 megawatts. ESolar’s deal, one of the largest renewable energy projects to date, comes a few months after an Arizona company, First Solar, secured a contract to build a huge photovoltaic power plant in China. China is emerging as a major market for renewable energy ...