Portugal in talks with Project Better Place

Prime Minister Jose Socrates will soon sign an agreement for Portugal to join the Better Place electric car project backed by Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co, Diario Economico reported without naming its sources.

Project Better Place has already signed agreements to build electric vehicle recharge grids in Denmark and Israel, and the company has raised $200 million from investors including VantagePoint Venture Partners, Israel Corp., and Maniv Energy Capital.

Last week, Better Place CEO Shai Agassi testified before the U.S. Congress' Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. The topic of the hearing was “$4 Gasoline and Fuel Economy: Auto Industry at a Crossroads”.

In his testimony, Agassi revealed that Better Place is "in active discussions with more than 30 other countries, and with dozens of regions, provinces, states and large cities." He added that he expects four to six other countries or regions to sign agreements with Better Place in the coming months, just as Israel and Denmark have already done.

Better Place has not yet responded to today's news report, but it sounds like Portugal may be next.

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