Ambiente/REDCloud wins grant from Chilean Government

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AMBIENTE MOTORS/REDCLOUD SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN PRESTIGIOUS GLOBAL ACCELERATOR PROGRAM, START-UP CHILE WITH $40K GRANT

Selected participants, 100 in total, hail from 36 different nations and comprise the third and final application round of 2011

Ashland, Oregon, USA– December 23, 2011 – Ambiente/REDCloud has been awarded a base-grant for its hybrid/electric agriculture vehicle with REDCloud vehicle Information System. The grant is part of Start-Up Chile program which has selected a 100 high-tech global start-up from more than 570 applicants. Ambiente, which has been working for several months on its new line of hybrid utility vehicles which it plans to launch in 2012, would be the first EV company with operations in Chile

With its vibrant agriculture and wine industries as well as the vast national land reserves, Chile is an ideal market to test Ambiente’s purpose-built and rugged hybrid/electric utility vehicles.  Chile is also one of the most advanced countries in Central and South America in environmental policies.  With a 40% hydroelectric energy portfolio it is a great early adopter market for EVs. The first EV rapid charging station in Latin America was inaugurated in Santiago in April of 2011. Chile also boasts the biggest production volume of copper and Lithium, which are used as raw materials of EV production.

About Ambiente/REDCloud

Ambiente Motors Inc is a hybrid/electric vehicle technology company based in North America with offices in Brazil. Ambiente designs and engineers hybrid and electric utility vehicles for commercial, agriculture and fleet applications. Ambiente has developed the REDCloud™ vehicle information system which offers monitoring and diagnostics for a multitude of electric vehicle platforms.  For more information visit: www.redcloudev.com

About Start-Up Chile

Start-Up Chile is a program created by the Chilean Government, initiated by the Ministry of Economy and executed by Corfo/InnovaChile, that seeks to attract early-stage high potential entrepreneurs to bootstrap their startups using Chile as a platform to go global. In line with the national goal of converting Chile into the innovation and entrepreneurship hub of Latin America, the program plans to bring 1,000 startups to Chile by 2014.

The program, unique in the world, and catalyst of similar initiatives such as Startup America, Britain, and Greece, is the ideal opportunity for bootstrappers to receive funding without ceding equity while utilizing one of the strongest Latin American economies as their launching/development platform. Start-Up Chile has been featured in The Economist, BusinessWeek, TechCrunch, and Forbes, among others.

For more information about the Start-Up Chile experience, please visit www.startupchile.org.

Emerging Market Cities get a Green Boost from FedEx

I am really pleased to see that FecEx is putting it’s money where it can really do some good. The collaboration with FecEx and WRI  put towards making public transportation in Brazil, India and Mexico is a great effort and in cases where the need is so urgent–it is likely to have a significant impact. More on the project here…

WRI and FEDEx team up to improve emerging market transportation

Agriculture as a National Treasure

I really liked this comment…

“The resources devoted to agriculture and food are national treasures that require preservation.” –Brent Searle, Department of Agriculture Oregon Analyst and Economics.

The full story on Oregon’s New Agriculture Economic Report available here

Meeting with Senator Wyden

Ambiente/REDCloud was part of a round table discussion on entrepreneurship with Senator Wyden at the Sustainable Valley offices in Medford. Ambiente has been part of the Sustainable Valley since its inception.

Senator Wyden was particularly interested in how we can help encourage new technology and innovation to the Ag sector.

Senator’s Press Release

Why Oregon Farms Matter

I am so proud to live in Oregon, everywhere I look it seems we are on the “cutting edge” I came across this article on the Oregon farmers, born from the Oregon foodie culture and a passion to eat local. We are also the fortunate benefactors of a lush and fruitful (and still very rural) state. NY Times covered the new Oregon farmers in a story in May.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/us/06farmers.html?_r=1&src=tp&smid=fb-share

Buy Local! Eat Local!

Brazil Revises its New Automotive Manufacturers Requirements

The Ministry of Development, Industry and Trade confirmed today that Brazil will not require new manufacturers to product 65% of their product locally. This is an interesting development given Nissan’s recent overtures to Brazil’s Automotive Industry.

He also confirmed that the increase to the IPI (excise tax) that has been on automotive imports will continue to at least the end of 2012.

Demand for EVs high in Brazil, India, China

This research by Deloitte and reported by Resource Investing News is particularly compelling. It states that 85% of consumers in these markets have interest in moving forward with electric vehicles.

The study goes on to site the challenges that we all know and love: range anxiety, cost, look to government for incentives. Many of the American EV companies have great ideas about how to best address these issues and my experience has been that these emerging market governments are more aggressive in providing incentives.

I am absolutely certain that these regions of the world are where we find the volume that we need to grow this technology and that American EV companies are best suited to take advantage of it.