There’s been a lot of positive vibes coming out of Zero Motorcycles ->ke3362recently. Fresh off of announcing its expansion into the Italian market, the California-based electric motorcycle company has received an extra round of financial help coming from the California Energy Commission.

The CEC issued a grant to the company amounting to $1,009,220. According to Zero, company investors will match the CEC’s grant, bringing the total investment to a little more than $2 million. That number might not sound like a lot for other companies, but for a start-up like Zero Motorcycles, that would be enough to help the company infuse some needed funds into its research and development department, as well as its assembly plant in Scotts Valley, California.

It’s also a clear sign of the growing confidence being put into Zero Motorcycles and the company’s ability to improve its growth both in and outside the US market. It also comes at a perfect time for Zero Motorcycles to increase its share of a market that can be best described as in flux given the recent downfall of Brammo’s business and the new interest in electric motorcycles coming from some of the biggest companies in the world.

But right now, it’s Zero Motorcycles’ space and the confidence being shown by entities like the CEC could go a long way in the company’s quest to become a major player in the electric motorcycle segment.

Continue reading to read more about Zero Motorcycles’ new investment funding from the California Energy Commission.

Why it matters

For a relatively new company looking to break into the motorcycle industry, Zero Motorcycles is pushing all the right buttons. It’s a credit to the leadership of CEO Richard Walker, who seemingly understands that being successful in the business means that you’re going to need a lot of help from investors, especially because Zero Motorcycles doesn’t have the financial might of its competitors.

It certainly helps that you’re building your entire company on electric motorcycles. That’s going to get the attention of organizations like the California Energy Commission, which itself is a leading proponent of zero emissions vehicles.

Janea A. Scott, lead commissioner on transportation for the California Energy Commission, put it best when she said that zero emission vehicles “helps the state meet its clean air, climate, and petroleum reduction goals."

In its own way, Zero Motorcycles is promoting the same message and if the words of VP of Operations Kai Hypko have any weight to them, we can take comfort knowing that the company will put the CEC’s investment to good use.

Zero Motorcycles is a company that has yet to tap its full potential and if it continues pushing the right buttons, more and more people will begin to recognize its products the same way organizations like the California Energy Commission already know.

That, in a nutshell, is good for the company’s business.