Julius Baer has agreed a deal to be the exclusive Global Partner of the new FIA Formula E Championship, the world's first fully-electric racing series.

The inaugural championship, which starts in Beijing on 13th September 2014, includes ten races in major cities around the globe.

The company says that Formula E, with its visionary approach and global reach, is an ideal sponsorship platform for the brand as it stands for many values Julius Baer shares, such as innovation, sustainability and forward-looking pioneering spirit. The bank will leverage the sponsorship for high-class client events and a wide range of marketing activities.

The FIA Formula E Championship is the world's first fully-electric racing series, created by the International Automobile Federation, the FIA. It's seen as representing a vision for the future of the motor industry over the coming decades, serving as a framework for research and development around the electric vehicle, accelerating general interest in the cars and promoting sustainable and innovative technologies.

From September 2014 to June 2015, the championship will compete in the centre of ten of the world's leading cities – including Beijing, London, Berlin, Monte Carlo and Buenos Aires – racing around their iconic landmarks. For the inaugural season, ten teams, each with two drivers, will go head-to-head, including among others former Formula 1 drivers Lucas di Grassi, Nick Heidfeld, Jarno Trulli, Sébastien Buemi, Nelson Piquet Jr and Bruno Senna as well as two female drivers, Michela Cerruti and Katherine Legge. There will be both a drivers' and a teams' championship.

All Formula E races will be one-day events on city-centre circuits with practice, qualifying and the race taking place on a single day in order to minimise disruption to the host city. The races will begin by standing start and last for approximately one hour with drivers making one mandatory pit stop in order to change cars. The cars have a maximum speed of 225 km/h and are at top speed slightly louder than an ordinary car.

Starting with the first race in Beijing on 13th September, 2014, Julius Baer will be the exclusive Global Partner of Formula E. Its logo will be prominently shown both on the cars and on the race tracks.

"We are excited to support the FIA Formula E Championship as its exclusive Global Partner", said Boris F.J. Collardi, Chief Executive Officer of Julius Baer. "This gives us the unique opportunity to get involved in the world's first fully-electric racing series which fosters innovation towards more sustainable means of transport. Formula E provides us with a first-rate global platform to share this bold vision with our clients".

Alejandro Agag, CEO of Formula E, said: "We're delighted to be welcoming Julius Baer to the Formula E family and to see their commitment and support to clean energy and sustainability. To be able to announce a major global partner of this stature on the eve of the first race is very exciting, and shows the continued strength and momentum of the series".