EEStor Ultra-cap to ship this year

[ted.lowe]

Looks very promising... true or too good to be true

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/eestors-worldchanging-super-battery-to-ship-this-year-230362.php

[terry.kane]

It appears to be real AND too good to be true.  I look forward to seeing how this plays out.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/09/15/technology/disruptors_eestor.biz2/index.htm
Note author's name!

[ted.lowe]

Just for grins, in sent the author (Erick) email asking him if he had done a follow-up on the company and technology since his Sept 2006 article is over 1 year old.   If EEStor is for real, it will be HUGE!

[ted.lowe]

EEStor has been granted patents now and more technical information is FINALLY available.

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/12/24/eestor-gets-patent-for-eesu-we-get-some-details/

Too good to be true

[richard.miller]

     This was always an interesting technology. Significant problems still exist. 1)Lets see some proof of those claims. Patents don't always mean the specifications have been met. 2) Did you say 3500V? Its probably hard to even find a DC train controller that will operate at the voltage. Also other components like contactors, fuses and DC to DC's will be much more costly. 3) Even if you do it is unlikely that it will put up with the discharge profile of a capacitor which is always a downward slope. New technology in controllers is needed. 4) Safety at 3500V is not for hobbyists or public safety personnel.
     On the plus side 1) It sounds like very good energy density and likely good power density. 2)Since pack voltage is linearly proportional to remaining energy it will be easy to make an accurate "gas gauge". 3) barring physical damage the number of charge discharge cycles should be phenominal.
     Good stuff. We will keep an eye on EEstore. Still at least a couple of years from useful I would guess.
  Rick Miller

[george.vergara]

About two and a half years ago I noticed an article about EEStor Ultra-cap in a magazine called Business 2.0. Since then the publication has stopped production. I wrote to the man in charge. His name was Tom Weir,V.P. and General Manager. The address I wrote to was Tom Weir, V.P. and General Manager, 715 Discovery Blvd., Building 1-office 107, Cedar Lake Texas 78613. His secretary, Betty, was nice enough to give me his address. I never got a response from Mr. Weir but his secretary called me at my home. I sent about five letters. She was very nice and thanked me for sending him a copy of  "Who Killed The Electric Car.

[ken.simmermon]

Well this is truly exciting news, if anything like this ever becomes available it would be the holly grail for EV's and other energy storage systems. It reminds me of how far memory devices like ram chips and thumb drives have come and how they were originally rotating magnetic drums and relays. Does anyone know how many companies are working on this type of technology? It certainly seems it should be a Global Goal. It makes flywheel energy storage like like the stone age compared to this technology.

[ken.simmermon]

http://cleantech.com/news/3174/eestors-weir-speaks-about-ultracapacitor-milestone
http://cleantech.com/news/2644/zenn-gearing-up-for-eestor-powered-car
http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:EEStor

Now I'm guessing here but it seems that with EEstor combining of ceramics and the aluminum oxide they are producing a highly stable and Extremely porous and reactive media not unlike the Firefly battery but without the need for chemical reaction. Holly Crap Batman, they might be on to something. 

[terry.kane]

I'm kind of excited about this company's products.  Not as high capacity as the ultra-caps but I think as a supplement to a smaller battery pack, in parallel, to deliver amps for acceleration and (possibly) gobble current from regenerative/e-braking, they could make good sense.  What would be the benefit to a conventional PbA pack if it never saw high current draw?  Goodbye Peukert effect, for one!

http://www.microntn.com/PowerPak.html

[ken.simmermon]

Terry, that powerpack looks pretty neat have you contacted the company.

[terry.kane]

I did speak with Dr. Nowak, the CEO of Micron.  He said that while they have focused in the past on Military (with fair success) and are presently targeting the "marine SLI" market, EV's are a viable potential market for their super-caps.  Of course, no one expects to get rich off of us "hobbyists" so his interest in helping me was mild.  They will certainly sell an individual their products and, if you bought 10 (for 120V, for instance) I'm sure you'd enjoy a discount over the retail price of about $450 each.  I can provide Dr. Nowak's contact info if anyone wants to follow up with him on their own.

I will probably be working on a data acquisition project with them in the coming year through my day job.  I'm hoping that as I build a good business relationship with them, they'll take more interest in my hobby inquiries...

[lawrence.miller]

What are its practical specifications? Do these satisfy an EV application?

Is it practical for an EV? What is the real total cost of ownership? Certainly designing electronics for a 3,500 V capacitor is challenging, but I believe with sufficient effort I could do this. Are there are other members interested in design?

1. What is the practical lifetime based on time (months) and the number of charge-discharge cycles?
2. What is the maximum input and output currents at different voltages?
3. What is the operational temperature range?
4. What is the practical energy storage?
I suspect it is less than 0.5*C*V**2 (0.5*30F*3500V = 183.75 MJ = 51 kWh).
5. What is the weight?
6. From what height can it safely be dropped onto a concrete floor?
How rugged is it in a crash or other accident?
7. What chemical or other dangers does it pose?
We are already aware of the high voltage of 3,500 kV.
8. What are the government regulations on it that might affect us in developing it for an EV application?
9. What are the recycling options?
Are these real recycling of the materials or merely waste disposal?

[lawrence.miller]

Here is a rumor spec on an EEStor device:

http://www.freewebs.com/eestorfaq/

C09. How long will an EESU® last?

The short answer: probably decades, and longer than most people keep their cars. An EESU® is claimed to last for a million charge / discharge cycles, equivalent to charging the unit up and running it down ten times a day for 274 years! Just as importantly, the amount of energy an EESU® can hold does not degrade with use. In other words: Unlike rechargeable batteries, the EESU® will continue to hold a full charge no matter how often it's charged and discharged. However, as with any solid-state electronic device, it's not reasonable to expect it to last forever.

[ken.simmermon]

Terry, the price of $450 for the MICRON power pack seems fair for what they say it can do. Are they shipping products? I think I would be willing to purchase one for evaluation. I would like to see the specs first.

[terry.kane]

Ken - I started a new Topic for the Micron Smart Start products...
Link to the topic http://www.fveaa.org/forums/index.php/topic,545.0.html