Taxpayer-backed green energy company ECOtality that filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month has offers to sell its assets for $4.3 million to three separate buyers according to court records.
The Department of Energy (DOE), which awarded the company $115 million in stimulus funds to produce those Blink chargers you see all over, suspended payments last month when the firm filed bankruptcy in Arizona. ECOtality had already received $96 million of its $115 million commitment from the DOE when it filed chapter 11.
The DOE’s goal was to help ECOtality and a variety of other industry partners deploy electric car charging stations across the country and then study the most cost effective way to roll them out as electric vehicles gain popularity. There are 612 installed in Arizona, 41 in Tucson.
The company’s work in building and installing electric vehicle charging stations was integral to the Obama administration’s attempts to get a million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. That goal has been walked back as its achievability came into question.
As part of the project, people who bought Nissan Leaf electric cars were provided home charging stations for free if they agreed to share their charging data with ECOtality and the government
According to a request filed in court by ECOtality, the company’s auction drew three bids for three different business lines, with the car charging unit drawing the highest price. That business originated in Phoenix. ECOtality moved its headquarters, but not operations, to San Francisco in 2010.
It’s unclear what will happen to the thousands of Blink chargers that have been installed as a new company takes over the business line. According to the filing, a bidder calling itself “Blink Acquisition” will pay $3.3 million for the Blink Network business line, and take over all liabilities associated with it.
Another company, Intertek, will pay $750,000 for the eTec Labs business, which tests various electric-vehicle equipment for the U.S. government and other customers.
Access Control will pay $250,000 for the Minit-Charger industrial electric vehicle business, which includes forklifts and airport baggage-handling equipment.
The sales have been approved by the Judge and each of the bids includes a back-up bid.