Privately owned Think had asked the government to help it out of its “urgent financial distress” sparked by the global crisis, saying it had difficulty obtaining working capital and that its suppliers are severely hit.

“There are many companies that are in a demanding financial situation because of the financial crisis,” Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Rikke Lind told Reuters. “The government cannot go in on the ownership side or provide loans to specific companies in today’s situation,” she said.

The government is setting up a variety of measures to provide support to companies, but that “Think...[has] to be considered in line with everybody else.”

Following the news, Ener1, Inc., which is supplying Li-ion packs to Think for use in the EV, announced that it has secured a commitment for a $30 million line of credit from its principal investor, Ener1 Group, that fully funds the company’s business plan through 2009.

Ener1 also confirmed that it remains on schedule to deliver advanced the battery systems to Think. There has been no change to Ener1’s existing purchase order for $34 million, the company said.