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Sunday, April 20, 2008

EEStor Putting An End To Batteries As We Know Them

For Years, battery storage technology has been a much relied on way to power up your gadgets, keep a pacemaker running and far out in space to keep systems running, cell phones to electric vehicles, our technological capabilities always seem to be several steps ahead of our ability to power them. Several promising new technologies are currently under development to help power your needs, but one small start-up looks especially promising to transform the way we think about energy storage.

EEStor is not exactly creating a new battery, since no chemicals are used. The storage technology is based on the idea of a solid state ultracapacitor, but cannot be really described in these terms either. Ultracapacitors have an advantage over electrochemical batteries for example lithium-ion technology - in that they can absorb and release a charge virtually instantaneously with virtually no deterioration. Batteries low away ultracapacitors in their ability to store much larger amounts of energy at any given time.

EEStor's revamp of the ultracapacitor is called the Electrical Energy Storage Unit, or EESU it combines the best of both worlds. The advance is based on a barium-titanate insulator claimed to increase the energy far beyond whats achievable with today's ultracapacitor technology. It is claimed that this new advance allows for a specific energy of about 280 watts per kilogram, more than double that lithium-ion technology and ten times that of lead-acid batteries. This could make an electric vehicle capable of traveling up to 500 miles on a five minute charge, compared with current battery technology which offers an average 50-100 range on an overnight charge. EEStor claims they will be able to mass-produce the units at a fraction of the cost.

EEStor claims the technology can be scaled up or down for virtually any application, from pacemakers to use in the renewable energy sector (think solar panels). If it comes to fruition, the technology could revolutionize virtually every aspect of energy storage. Further, because it is based on a solid state design and not dependent on chemicals, the technology would be extremely safe, environmentally friendly, and benefit from an unparalleled lifespan.

EEStor plans to roll out the first production units later this year, and Zenn hopes to have cars utilizing the technology on the road by Fall 2009.

2 comments :

Unknown said...

I hope we will hear more from EEstor soon. Their batteries would revolutionize the automobile industry and drastically reduce our dependence on oil.

http://www.eestorbatteries.com

Anonymous said...

I admire the inspiration for newer innovations. IF vehicles were operated by lithium ion batteries then the world would literally be a different place. ME myself mainly caring for the environment itself would really hope for the best case scenario and would wish that vehicles would run on them batteries!
IF it were possible though, many corporations would lose a lot of money..
Look guys, there are plenty of different alternatives for the car running on a different energy source. Cars today have the ability to run on propane, vegetable oil, water, and battery, but if these acts were to be in effect asap, big companies would lose business thus luxurious companies not being able to pay off many things in essense declaring bankruptcy. It will disturb the whole economic status of car dealerships because competition would compare to cellular phone business. A shop in every corner and not a need for it as much..