Feel Good Cars wants EEStor technology by 2008
The owner of Feel Good Cars says he plans to incorporate EEStor technology in his vehicles by 2008. Ian Clifford says a four-passenger sedan can "drive like a Ferrari" with the technology.
EEStor is a secretive company based in Texas that has been working on an "energy storage" device that outperforms batteries. Since chemicals are not involved, the EEStor device is technically not a battery but it reportedly stores much more electricity. It also charges quickly. EEStor doesn't say much about its product although the company has significant financial backing. One official did say," This is pretty much why we are here today, to compete with the internal combustion engine."
Clifford doesn't say if his Canadian-based company has contracted with EEStor, just that he has plans.
[Source: CNNMoney.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
stan 8:33AM (6/03/2008)
This company has been kicking the can (ultra-capacitor) down the road for quite some time. I'll believe it when I see it.
Reply
Tim 9:10AM (6/03/2008)
EXCLUSIVE: CEO of ZENN Motor Company on EEStor, EEStor Storage Units, cityZENN, and ZENNergy Drive Systems
http://gm-volt.com/2008/06/01/exclusive-ceo-of-zenn-motor-company-on-eestor-eestor-storage-units-cityzenn-and-zennergy-drive-systems/
Reply
loikll 12:34PM (9/22/2006)
Yeah I discovered this company just yesterday myself. I'm always bashing EV zealots because I think EVs will NEVER become mainstream as long as it takes 6 or 8 hours to recharge. Period.
But if this ultracapacitor technology pans out and it can recharge a car in 5 minutes, it would put that issue to rest. (Tho' there would still be the considerable capital expenditures of refitting 200,000 gas stations and vehicle manufacturing facilities, etc, so even this wouldn't be a slam dunk.)
I'll have to see it to believe it myself, in fact I'm guessing I'll never hear of these guys again. But, to the company's credit, at least they're keeping tight-lipped rather than hyping themselves to the moon like a lot of fantasy-tech companies I can recall from the 90's.
Reply
Tony Belding 1:59PM (9/22/2006)
Loikll, your lack of imagination is disappointing. I don't understand why some critics think an EV has to work exactly like gasoline-powered cars in order to be successful. If you can get a full day's driving per charge, then it doesn't matter how long an overnight charge takes -- as long as it's done overnight. Six to eight hours is fine. (Please note the Tesla Roadster takes only 3.5 hours.) Every morning you'll wake up with your car fully charged. Nobody will bother refitting 200,000 gas stations to become charging stations -- the stations will be obsolete. Seriously, who would use them?
As for EEStor. . . I've been following the rumors about them for a couple of months, and I'm still holding onto my skepticism. If the rumors -- or even half the rumors -- are true, it could be huge. On the other hand, I remember when some people were saying similar things about flywheel storage, and nothing came of it. EEStor reportedly have an agreement to deliver product to FGC in early 2007, so we shouldn't have to wait too long before finding out if there's any substance.
Reply
Howard Lee Harkness 2:19PM (9/22/2006)
Supercap technology still has a ways to go before it will beat batteries for energy/weight. Right now, I think the best EV technology would use both batteries and supercaps. Supercaps have a problem with voltage limitation, and batteries have a problem with maintenance expense. But batteries make very good voltage limiters, and supercaps should have less maintenance. Using both could be a good tradeoff.
Reply
Manu Sharma 2:20PM (9/22/2006)
Another scenario in which limited charge of EVs won't be an issue: replacable battery banks. When your EV is out of charge just get a new battery bank from a 'charging station' and deposit your old one. You pay for the charge and any difference between the life of the betteries is adjusted likewise.
So, no matter how much you drive in a particular day, you don't have to worry about recharging your car.
Reply
Ian Drake 11:28AM (9/26/2006)
I'm into the whole electric car thing, but charging a 52kwh battery (or UC) in 5 minutes sounds dangerous...that's a LOT of electricity. The instantanious load of that kind of recharge will make for some interesting electronics.
PS - 50kwh l-ion battery pack weighs ~400kg not something you just swap. Even in smaller packs you'll have to move that total weight...could be a workout.
Reply
Michael Polsinelli 4:21PM (9/22/2006)
Many Electric vehicle owners are very skeptical about this. Here is some of their discussion on it:
http://tinyurl.com/lgvkv
Reply
jiltedcitizen 4:31PM (9/22/2006)
Sounds neat. I still want to see flywheels come about. They are starting to breaking to UPS systems, maybe it just needs more time and money. I know I'd never buy an EV if I had to limit my travel in order to make it back home to charge. So yes I'd say EV's would have to mimic gas cars in that respect.
Reply
Tony Belding 10:33PM (9/22/2006)
The idea of hot-swappable batteries is one that lots of people bring up, and I'm sure it's possible -- but I don't like it. Setting aside technical difficulties (what if the batteries use liquid cooling?), I just don't like the idea of swapping in batteries of unproven history or condition. I'm sure "filling station" owners would have their own concerns about getting ripped off too. You could put some safeguards in place, but I suspect this simple idea would soon turn into a complicated one.
I would remind Jiltedcitizen that EVs can be charged at places other than your home. If they become popular, I'm sure motels and campgrounds will offer charging. The key is to get range up to about the maximum most people are willing to drive in a day's time. I peg that around 500 miles, although obviously it will vary with different people. (I honestly can't remember the last time I drove more than 250 miles in a day, but I can imagine some situations where I might want to.)
Reply