General Electric, Fairfield, Conn., and Better Place, Palo Alto, Calif., have announced a technology and financing partnership to accelerate the global deployment of electric-vehicle infrastructure. The teams will collabo¬rate in four key areas: technology devel-opment, battery financing, electrifying corporate vehicle fleets and consumer awareness. GE brings smart-grid exper-tise, advanced battery research, and electric-vehicle charging technology to the table. Better Place, a pioneer in creating a practical charging network, brings an EV business model that draws on both charging stations and battery-switch stations.