The latest about EEStor, the promising developer of ultracapacitors can be found in a post by Tyler in Clean Break, EEStor Powered cityZenn targeted for fall 2009 the key item is taken from Zenn Motor Company's press release following its annual general meeting of March 28:
The cityZENN is planned to be a fully certified, highway capable vehicle with a top speed of 125 KPH/ 80 MPH and a range or 400 kilometres/250 miles. Powered by EEStor, the cityZENN will be rechargeable in less than 5 minutes, feature operating costs 1/10th of a typical internal combustion engine vehicle and be 100% emission-free! The Zero-Emission, No-Noise cityZENN will be designed to meet the transportation requirements of a large percentage of drivers worldwide.
"EEStor's game-changing energy storage technology is in the advanced stages of commercialization", stated Ian Clifford, Chief Executive Officer. "EEStor has publicly committed to commercialization in 2008 and their first production line will be used to supply ZENN Motor Company."
EEStor is believed to have had trouble developing its product, an ultracapacitor claimed to have a specific energy of 280 watt-hours per kilogram, compared to a lithium ion battery with about 120 watt-hours and a lead-acid gel battery, with only 32 watt hours. (Although ElectroVaya claims 330Wh/kg, so they may not be alone)
The problem is believed, by some, to be in producing the ultra-pure barium-titanate used in the capacitor, which is the key to having the high specific energy. A January 2007 announcement indicated that 1) An automated production line had been proven to meet the requirements for precise chemical delivery, purity control, parameter control and stability and 2) they had 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. At that time they claimed that they would be shipping product to Zenn in 2007, a year earlier than indicated in the current announcement.
EEStor's recently announced collaboration with Lockheed Martin, which gives the company credibility and is a further indication that the company is making progress. The current announcement seems to be in agreement with the timing indicated in the Lockheed Martin announcement, although, based on past performance, a wait and see position must be held.
Wow, 80 miles per hour? That's pretty fast for this type of vehicle, right?
Posted by: Dentist West Hollywood | November 22, 2011 at 01:33 PM
It's amazing the stuff they were working on years ago and I still feel like I have yet to see these in mass production.
Posted by: Therapist New York | November 22, 2011 at 03:02 PM
I understand these processes take a lot of time but hasn't this technology been around for a while? Shouldn't more people be in electric or hybrid cars?
Posted by: Air Purifier | November 22, 2011 at 03:11 PM
99.994% is good, right? Or does it have to be 100...
Posted by: Underwater Video Camera | November 22, 2011 at 03:44 PM
Never heard of cityZENN before, sounds like they're doing great research!
Posted by: Rug Cleaning Los Angeles | November 22, 2011 at 04:01 PM
I would be interested on any updates as well.
Posted by: Los Angeles SEO | November 25, 2011 at 03:17 PM
Hopefully they were able to overcome the trouble with developing that ultracapacitor, at this point I'm sure they either figured it out or scrapped the project.
Posted by: Furniture Stores in Los Angeles | November 25, 2011 at 07:40 PM
Very inserting. I would like to read that press release that you quoted now too.
Posted by: Cheap Furniture Glendale | December 02, 2011 at 05:15 PM