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EEstor ultra-capacitors

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CEDAR PARK, TEXAS -- (MARKET WIRE) -- January 17, 2007 -- The first
EEStor, Inc. automated production line has been proven to meet the
requirements for precise chemical delivery, purity control, parameter
control and stability.

In addition, EEStor, Inc. has completed the initial milestone of
certifying purification, concentration, and stability of all of its
key production chemicals notably the attainment of 99.9994% purity of
its barium nitrate powder.

The independent 3rd party chemical analysis was completed by Southwest
Research Institute, Inc. located in San Antonio, Texas under contract
with EEStor, Inc.

With these milestones completed, EEStor, Inc. is now in the process of
producing on its automated production line, composition-modified
barium titanate powders and is moving toward completing its next major
milestone of powder certification.

It is anticipated that the relative permittivity of the current powder
will-either meet and/or exceed 18,500, the previous level achieved
when EEStor, Inc. produced prototype components using it engineering
level processing equipment.

Richard Weir, CEO and President of EEStor, Inc. added: "We are very
proud of the key advancements we have made over the past year. In
addition to the milestones identified, the Company has also been
awarded a critical patent related to our technology and has 12
additional patents pending. We have built a state-of-the-art facility
and have exceptional personnel onboard."

The first commercial application of the EESU is intended to be used in
electric vehicles under a technology agreement with ZENN Motors
Company. EEStor, Inc. remains on track to begin shipping production 15
kilowatt-hour Electrical Energy Storage Units (EESU) to ZENN Motor
Company in 2007 for use in their electric vehicles. The production
EESU for ZENN Motor Company will function to specification in
operating environments as sever as negative 20 to plus 65 degrees
Celsius, will weigh less than 100 pounds, and will have ability to be
recharged in a matter of minutes.

ABOUT EEStor, Inc.

Headquartered in Cedar Park, Texas, EEStor, Inc. is dedicated to the
design, development, and manufacturing of high-density energy storage
devices. Utilizing revolutionary ultra capacitor architecture and
environmentally friendly materials the EEStor, Inc. EESU will compete
against all existing battery technologies. The EEStor, Inc. EESU IS
capable of microsecond recharging and millions of 100%
charge/discharge cycles. The technology is affordable and designed for
versatile "racked and stacked" configurations.
 
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Re: EESTOR PRESS RELEASE !!!!!

Hm. I'd love to see a prototype or at least some pictures of this technology. It's either super-secret and worthy of a Nobel prize or a scam.

First off, why a Chinese manufacturer? And second, it is 2007. Have there been any concept cars?

I hope their technology works...because it'd be something for Tesla to latch onto for version 2.0.
 
Re: EESTOR PRESS RELEASE !!!!!

I think this is exciting news. I had just been wondering about EEStor and why I hadn't heard anything about them for a while. It's good to see they are back on track.

I have to point out. . . This test result was originally expected several months ago. If there hadn't been delays, we were supposed to be looking at a shipping product about now. These are the kinds of hangups that often occur when developing a new technology and trying to bring it to production. So whenever somebody asks Tesla hasn't already jumped onto Miracle Battery X, you should think about this hiccup in EEStor's delivery schedule.

I'm sure they are watching closely, but they just don't want to bet their business plan on the uncertainties of somebody else's business plan.
 
Re: EESTOR PRESS RELEASE !!!!!

If the EEStor is successful it can also be applied to home use. We can entertain the idea of having solar panels that power our homes and also store energy onto this type of battery for use at night and when the panels are not collecting enough sunlight. A good setup would reduce our need for grid electricity. Having an EV charged by such a setup would be icing on the cake.
 
Re: EESTOR PRESS RELEASE !!!!!

Hi all, I'm new to the board. I've been reading up on TM for a few weeks now. I was shocked to read this post mentioning EEStor was in Cedar Park TX. I looked them up on Google maps, and they are literally right across the street from my house! I might have to take the ol' DSLR out of the case and get a few spy shots :D Maybe I should setup a webcam on my roof and have a 24/7 live feed.. oh the possibilities.

Anyway, I have a huge interest in the performance of electric cars. I'm a big car buff, and a geek at heart. What better match then an electric car?

Regards,
Phyte
 
Re: EESTOR PRESS RELEASE !!!!!

DDB said:
Hm.  I'd love to see a prototype or at least some pictures of this technology.  It's either super-secret and worthy of a Nobel prize or a scam.

First off, why a Chinese manufacturer?  And second, it is 2007.  Have there been any concept cars?

I hope their technology works...because it'd be something for Tesla to latch onto for version 2.0.

It will probably be maufactured in china to cut the overall cost of the product. I hope this is a real product! *crosses fingers*
The other great thing is that Tesla has stated that they have a big intrest in ultracaps and that once they become commercialy viable (what EEStor is promising) that they will be "all over them". Here we go! No more worrying about the dergration of the batteries, no more hour long charging times (well depending on the voltage of the plug  ::)) and longer range!
 
Re: Ultracapacitors?

Small tidbits:

"The potential commercialization of the Electrical Energy Storage Units being developed by ZENN Motor Company's strategic partner, EEStor Inc., in future ZENN vehicles will allow them to go as far and as fast as a traditional car at a fraction of the cost."

eestor.jpg

Caption: "The Feel Good Car will use EEstor's device by 2008"

"The production EESU for ZENN Motor Company will function to specification in operating environments as severe as negative 20 to plus 65 degrees Celsius, will weigh less than 100 pounds, and will have ability to be recharged in a matter of minutes."

"this new power source will allow ZENN to quadruple the range and introduce high-speed charging to their Low Speed Vehicles (LSVs). ZENN will also be able to seriously look at a high-speed platform and make a highway-ready vehicle if the technology is as good as the hushed rumors suggest. Clifford said using EESTOR's tech would add less $1,000 to the cost of a ZENN car and return performance that rivals an ICE."

"-- It is a parallel plate capacitor with barium titanate as the dielectric.
-- It claims that it can make a battery at half the cost per kilowatt-hour and one-tenth the weight of lead-acid batteries.
-- As of last year selling price would start at $3,200 and fall to $2,100 in high-volume production
-- The product weighs 400 pounds and delivers 52 kilowatt-hours.
-- The batteries fully charge in minutes as opposed to hours.
-- The EEStor technology has been tested up to a million cycles with no material degradation compared to lead acid batteries that optimistically have 500 to 700 recharge cycles,
Because it's a solid state battery rather than a chemical battery, such being the case for lithium ion technology, there would be no overheating and thus safety concerns with using it in a vehicle.
-- With volume manufacturing it's expected to be cost-competitive with lead-acid technology.
-- As of last year, EEStor planned to build its own assembly line to prove the battery can work and then license the technology to manufacturers for volume production
"

"EEStor, the developer of a new high-power-density ceramic ultracapacitor (the Energy Storage Unit—EESU), has broken a long public silence and announced reaching two key production milestones. First, its automated production line has been proven to meet the requirements for precise chemical delivery, purity control, parameter control and stability.
Second, EEStor has completed the initial milestone of certifying purification, concentration, and stability of all of its key production chemicals—notably the attainment of 99.9994% purity of its barium nitrate powder.
...
The EEStor ESU is projected to offer up to 10x the energy density (volumetric and gravimetric) of lead-acid batteries at the same cost. In addition, the ESU is projected to store up to 1.5 to 2.5 times the energy of Li-Ion batteries at 12 to 25% of the cost.
"

"Richard Weir, EEStor's cofounder and chief executive, says he would prefer to keep a low profile and let the results of his company's innovation speak for themselves. "We're well on our way to doing everything we said," Weir told Technology Review in a rare interview."

Patent Here

Georgia Tech is working on a similar technology
 
Re: Ultracapacitors?

Some of that EEStor information was published earlier this year and was followed by silence.

If we take a leap of faith and this product becomes available around 2nd or 3rd quarter 2008 it would have wide implications for WhiteStar and future models.

One 52kwh L-ion pack    = ~900 lbs and has   > 200 mile range
Two 52kwh EEstor units = ~800 lbs and have ~ 400 mile range

I may be repeating myself from previous posts; but as a potential WhiteStar buyer (ready to put down a deposit), I would hesitate purchasing with L-ion batteries knowing an EEStor unit was proven, meets regulation and is ready for market.  WhiteStar could be offered with 1 or 2 EEStor battery units, its weight and price would decrease.  Assuming an L-ion battery pack is $20k and the “base model” WhiteStar price is $50k, a $3200 EEStor battery unit would drop the WhiteStar price to $33k.   WhiteStar could then be sold with one, two or three battery units or designed so that additional battery units can be added for long trips.  At $33k or $36k Tesla would not be able to produce WhiteStars fast enough.   ;D
 
Re: Ultracapacitors?

Previously their plan was to deliver engineering samples to ZENN by Jan/Feb of 2007. Now they are saying EEstor and ZENN will have something to show before the end of this year. That implies a large schedule slip, a big chunk of a year slipped.
 
Re: Ultracapacitors?

Because it's in the French papers, this article last April seemed to escape much notice among anglophones. Plus, I haven't seen any of the promised prototypes since its publication. But for what it's worth:

http://www.lefigaro.fr/automobile/2...naissance_d_une_batterie_revolutionnaire.html

-----------------------------------------
Executive summary (and don't rely on my French translation abilities too much!):

The main news from the article -- entitled “The Birth of a Revolutionary ‘Battery’” -- is that MIT's Joel Schindall will have working a nano-enhanced capacitor prototype within three months (by July 13?). The article goes on to provide a short history of the capacitor, the charge-limiting factor of surface area, and the possibility that nanotubes may improve that. It says the prototype “est attendu comme le messie par les industriels,” or, roughly, “waited for like the messiah by industry.” It alleges that the ultimate use will be in the auto industry, but it will find uses in many other areas (mobile phones, laptops, etc.). It also says Ford has funded Schindall’s research with some “hundreds of thousands” of dollars.
 
Re: Ultracapacitors?

TEG said:
Lets hope that Tesla is quietly working with EEstor in the background in case this actually works.

That is what I am hoping for too. It would be beneficial to both companies on so many levels.

Brent, another application for ultra-capacitors is to store energy collected by solar panels for evening use. The right combination of solar panels and battery storage units may one day enable homeowners to get completely off the grid.