EEStor power storage nears commercial application … possibly?

[xcel]

ZENN details Highway capable Electric Vehicle powered by EEStor available by late 2009.

Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - March 28, 2008

2008 Zenn NEV on the road.

TORONTO, ONTARIO -- ZENN at its Annual Meeting updated shareholders on the Companies progress and future plans for an EEStor power storage unit implementation into a new ZENN model capable of highway travel. A preliminary launch date for the vehicle was touted for Fall 2009.

The cityZENN as the new model will be called will be a fully certified, highway capable EV with a top speed of 80 MPH and an all-electric range (AER) of 250 miles. The vehicle’s power storage is planned to include EEStor’s 'Electrical Energy Storage Units' (EESU).

EEStor’s EESU has been described as capable of a < 5-minute recharge from empty to full with an infinite number of charge/discharge cycles and most amazing of all, a 52 kWh capable unit is expected to cost as little as $3,200!

The Zero-Emission, No-Noise cityZENN will be designed to meet the transportation requirements of a large percentage of the world. With EEStor’s power unit providing energy storage, the electrical energy storage revolution will have finally begun.

ZENN also plans to work with strategic OEMs to offer a ZENNergy drivetrain, powered by EEStor, in various vehicle platforms as ZENN branded vehicles. ZENNergy drive systems will also be developed for the retrofitting and conversion of existing internal combustion vehicles to electric drive. The Company's initial target for these retrofit kits will be large, high-profile fleet opportunities.

The Company's exclusive technology agreement with EEStor for new vehicles up to 1400 kg (curb weight), and global rights to ALL retrofit conversions of existing internal combustion vehicles to electric is poised to make $Billions if the EEStor units perform as well as previously announced and for anywhere near the projected cost.

EEStor's energy storage technology is a key enabler of many clean technologies including renewable energy storage; grid load-leveling; consumer electronics and security applications all looking for a 'better battery.' For these applications, EEStor’s promise is the enabler.

The planned commercialization of the ultra capacitor being developed by ZENN Motor Company's strategic partner, EEStor Inc. for future ZENN vehicles will enable ZMC vehicles to travel at greater speeds and distances, just like a traditional car but at a fraction of the cost and with zero emissions!

Thanks for the lead Larry!

[jsmithy]

Hopefully these will be available in the US and at a price of about $20k. Might be wishful thinking on the price.

Good news about the retrofit kits. That sounds like it could be a cool project.

[diamondlarry]

I sent ZENN an email asking them if they have any details on pricing. I will post any replies I get from them. Jsmithy, $20K or less would be awesome but like you said, it's probably wishful thinking.

[jsmithy]

Originally Posted by diamondlarry

I sent ZENN an email asking them if they have any details on pricing. I will post any replies I get from them. Jsmithy, $20K or less would be awesome but like you said, it's probably wishful thinking.

Yeah, let us know if you here anything.

[Right Lane Cruiser]

Ah -- excellent! The infinite charge and discharge cycle bit is the one that is really nice. NO concerns about "dead packs" with those!

Yes, under $20K would be nice. I'm thinking under $15K would be perfect -- a lot of people don't get more than that AER with their gas engines as it is so it could be a very attractive choice if it just had a low enough purchase price!

[bestmapman]

Let's hope this is not a repeat of the Zap fiasco.

[JusBringIt]

i think that would work perfect if i put that all electric baby in place of my heavy v6, i wonder what my mileage percentage increase would be then ;D. hopefully this does happen...fingers crossed.

[WriConsult]

Hard to believe the 5 minute recharge. Sure, maybe the pack is capable of accepting such a fast recharge. If you plug it into a substation.

Recharging a 52kWh pack (a size mentioned in the article) in 5 minutes would require a 2600 amp circuit at 240V (assuming 100% efficiency). That's 13 times the capacity of my home's main panel. I think 52kWh might actually be oversized for a car like this, but even a 10kWh pack would take about an hour and a half to charge at 60A and 240V, the largest circuit typically installed in residential homes.

That quibble aside, boy would I really like this all to be true!

But if EEStor really is on the verge of the breakthrough they're talking about, would they really grant exclusive rights for new sub-3000 pound vehicles (and all retrofits) to a single company that's sold maybe a couple hundred cars in the past year? One that doesn't even have a fully street and highway legal vehicle on the road today? There's no way a small company like ZMC can ramp up in a couple years to the hundreds of thousands of units that will be demanded. It's simply not organizationally possible. Seems like EEStor would be banging on Honda's, Toyota's and GM's doors.

As for ZMC, can I take this to mean they'll finally pony up the millions needed to crash test this vehicle and certify it for full road use? Certification is a complex and tedious process. If they're aiming for next year, they'd better be starting now. More importantly, they'd better have the money in the bank now.

Also, the timing makes me skeptical. A co-worker who's wanted an EV for 20 years, and has closely watched EV news for that long, made the observation that the great breakthrough always seems to be a year and a half away. (Not?) coincidentally, ZMC is talking about Fall 2009 for the CityZENN. Uh-huh.

On a less skeptical note, I saw my first ZENN on the road as I was riding home through downtown last night. Sure looks a lot nicer and better put together than the Xebra.

[xcel]

Hi WriConsult:

___I have to wonder as well? IIRC, there was a $2.5 million USD transfer for a small equity stake plus the outrageous < 3,100 pound vehicle inclusion and upgrade rights. “If”, and I am saying if with some skepticism, this thing is as big as we have all hoped the previous 2 years, it is easily worth 1,000 times that small investment Notice how the MIC is involved with EEStor through Lockheed Martin from a previous announcement last year ...

___Good Luck

___Wayne