Who’s The Next Google? Meet 8 Contenders (4 Public, 4 Private Firms) Last Two: GM (Honest) & Gridpoint
Editor’s Note: In keeping with its policy to be solely a news source, this EnergyTechStocks Special Series is presented for information purposes only.
Posted: August 1, 2008
In search of that one investment that will make you filthy rich? EnergyTechStocks doesn’t have a crystal ball. But it spends a lot of time studying how the biggest industry in the world - energy - is undergoing profound changes that will make this planet very different within 5 to 10 years. We hold that hundreds of companies may make money for investors and that a handful - some public, some still private - have the look of a contender for the title “The Next Google.” We’ve picked out eight (an arbitrary number), finishing up with:
General Motors, the automotive giant almost everyone seems to think may be on its last legs, and Gridpoint Inc., a private firm based in Virginia.
GM may be America’s most unloved company right now, but it’s got the right stuff to triumph in the coming world of electrified transportation. When the plug-in electric Chevrolet Volt arrives in 2010, GM not only will have a car people can fill up for the equivalent of about $1 a gallon of gasoline, it will also be able to wrap itself in the American flag, as all of its plug-in challengers will be foreign firms. Even the Volt’s new long-lasting lithium-ion battery will be American made (probably by A123 Systems Inc.).
As Phil Reed, consumer advice expert at the authoritative automotive web site Edmunds.com, has said, if GM plays its cards right, it will enjoy a public relations bonanza. As Shai Agassi, head of Project Better Place, the company that wants to electrify every vehicle everywhere, has said, electrified transportation could be the mother of all economic growth, with incredible payoffs for early adopters. (For more, see There’s A Long List Of Companies That May Do Very Well If ‘Project Better Place’ Succeeds - Part 2 of 2, Felix Kramer’s Plug-in Electric Vehicle Progress Report For General Motors,Toyota, Honda and Ford and Green Tech Expert Mike Millikin Predicts The ‘Big 3’ Of Lithium-ion Battery Firms - Part 1 of 2.)
Gridpoint’s expertise is one reason GM could make a mint by going electric ahead of its rivals. Gridpoint makes a power grid “smart.” With Gridpoint technology, an electric utility grid can function as a web-enabled engine of energy efficiency. Every power-consuming device - from air conditioners to toasters - can be programmed to minimize and optimize electricity usage. That goes also for electric vehicles, which when they are plugged in, will serve as a completely emissions-free source of electricity, a source that may all-but-eliminate blackouts on hot summer days.
Gridpoint’s technology already is being tested by major U.S. electric utilities, which bodes very well for the company’s future, given how averse the industry normally is to change. One day soon, GM vehicles won’t just save motorists money by running on a cheaper fuel than gasoline. Thanks to Gridpoint technology, they also may be a source of income for owners who agree to let their electric utility tap the stored power in the car’s battery on an as-needed basis. (For more see Follow the Money: 5 Firms Grabbing Big Bucks That Belong on Investors’ Radar Screens: #5 GridPoint)
To read about the other six contenders in this series, please see:
1st Two: Energy Recovery & Konarka