Gentlemen, stop your engines

[boise1]

EEStor's new automotive power source could eliminate the need for the combustion engine - and for oil.

By Erick Schonfeld and Jeanette Borzo, Business 2.0
September 20 2006: 2:16 PM EDT

SAN FRANCISCO (Business 2.0 Magazine) -- The Disruptor: EEStor

The Innovation: A ceramic power source for electric cars that could blow away the combustion engine

The Disrupted: Oil companies and carmakers that don't climb aboard

Forget hybrids and hydrogen-powered vehicles. EEStor, a stealth company in Cedar Park, Texas, is working on an "energy storage" device that could finally give the internal combustion engine a run for its money -- and begin saving us from our oil addiction. "To call it a battery discredits it," says Ian Clifford, the CEO of Toronto-based electric car company Feel Good Cars, which plans to incorporate EEStor's technology in vehicles by 2008.

EEStor's device is not technically a battery because no chemicals are involved. In fact, it contains no hazardous materials whatsoever. Yet it acts like a battery in that it stores electricity. If it works as it's supposed to, it will charge up in five minutes and provide enough energy to drive 500 miles on about $9 worth of electricity. At today's gas prices, covering that distance can cost $60 or more; the EEStor device would power a car for the equivalent of about 45 cents a gallon.

And we mean power a car. "A four-passenger sedan will drive like a Ferrari," Clifford predicts. In contrast, his first electric car, the Zenn, which debuted in August and is powered by a more conventional battery, can't go much faster than a moped and takes hours to charge.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/09/15/technology/disruptors_eestor.biz2/index.htm

[Kolesar]

1. This implies building a huge number of new generating plants

Power lines, substations, new greenfield generating plants--coal or nuclear, pick your poison.

[freethought]

5. Granted, it is not an ideal solution

But no-emission cars that run of fuel cells are some time off. Also consider that when you put gasoline into your car, by the time you have used up 1 gallon you have put 17 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Cars that run on electricity taken off the grid cause a release of less than 1/2 the amount of CO2 from a gasoline engine. I'll take what we can get quite frankly. It also gives you the option of using wind, PV solar, or other alternative sources.
Like I said, it's not ideal but if the story is credible its alot better than what we presently have. At the very least you can make the most efficient use of your poisons.

[Kolesar]

6. yeah, you're right.

If we could trade the oil infrastructure for more electrical infrastructure, we would be a bit ahead. I just wish people would think in terms of "using less" or conserving.

[boise1]

7. Not necessarily.

Any disruptive technology such as this won't mean the instant, total replacement of existing vehicles. Just the energy costs to junk gas and diesel cars and trucks and to build a nationwide supply of electric vehicles would be far more prohibitive than the energy requirements of the new fleet. These would more than likely be introduced over a decades-long period.

Also, as PHEV's and pure battery-electrics become increasingly common, Vehicle-to-Grid technology will be an integral part of the grid energy equation. V2G enables a vehicle to both supply reserve power back to the grid and to perform power quality monitoring and control functions. One study suggests that V2G may eventually make EV's so equipped a significant supplier of energy.

http://www.greenmtn.edu/news/V2G.asp

[freethought]

2. Some impressive words and alot of missing details.

One wonders if they acutally have patent on it. Being tight-lipped is likely par-for-the-course when it comes to intellectuall property. We've seen these posts before. The source of the story makes it a little more credible.
Guess we'll just have to wait and watch what happens.
:eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :P :P :P

[maxsolomon]

3. $9 worth of electricity in 5 minutes

is really sucking down the juice!

anyway, good luck, i'll buy one when they become affordable. hurry up, i was born in 1963, so i won't be driving much after 2043.

[skids]

4. EEStor is an interesting company to try to angle.

Major investors who don't go in for flash in the pan solutions, but very, very tight control of information on what their business and production schedules are anticipated to be.

Speculations as to its properties are here:

http://thefraserdomain.typepad.com/energy/2006/01/eestor_ultracap.html

...which would put it more in the realm of competing with high speed flywheels and vanadium redox batteries for power storage for stationary structures, though it does seem to be the case that they expect it to have a volumetric energy density suitable for vehicles.

3500V -- I'd love to see the safety seals and catches that they end up using to reduce liability there. :scared: :evilgrin:

[hunter]

8. Safety seals probably not a big deal compared to "self destruct" capacity.

You thought exploding laptops were bad?

:scared:

[razors edge]

9. its not the volts that kill you,

its the amps.:

evilgrin:

[GreenGreenLimaBean]

10. let hope it's real

if so, this could be the magic bullet....in the long run pure electric cars are the answer. ethenol, bio-diesel, hybred and hydrogen fuel cells are all stop-gap measures until a pure electric car is produced. yes it will increase electric power generation, but the ability to control CO2 during the power generating process is far greater than downstream at the user level....

[depakid]

11. I'll wait until I see something from a CREDIBLE source

and not from the likes of CNN- that doesn't provide any analysis.

[wakeme2008]

12. Looks good to me....

The five minute recharge is less than a fillup on the road. :)