Policy entrepreneurs are individuals who exploit an opportunity in order to influence political results for their own benefit. We use the policy entrepreneurship literature as a theoretical lens for understanding how local players in the policy arena can use a national security agenda in order to promote an energy policy they desire. Using a case study approach, we explain how an Israeli electric vehicle company, Better Place, identified Israel's acute national security priority to cut its dependence on oil and leveraged it, along with environmental arguments, to make the case for their approach to transportation. Our analysis also demonstrates how policy entrepreneurs collaborate with Israeli bureaucrats, senior politicians and lobbying groups to create a national shift toward electric cars. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.