It looks like the futuristic power system for electric cars promised by EEStor could be a little late.
EEStor CEO Richard Weir told CNET News.com in a brief phone interview that commercial production of its energy storage system--a device that holds electricity and functions somewhat like a battery--will be sometime in the next 10 months or so. The unit is also referred to as an "ultracapacitor."
"We intend to be in production on or before the middle of next year," he said.
Although that means that the company could be in production by tomorrow, the time frame is a little wider, and extends about six months or so further into the future than previously stated.
Back in January, the company stated that it would start shipping 15 kilowatt hour electrical energy storage units to Canada's Zenn Motors, its first customer, in 2007. Zenn's cars will mark the first commercial application of EEStor's technology.
EEStor has been somewhat secretive about its technology, but proponents claim it will revolutionize the automotive industry because it will deliver electrical storage units that can power cars for hundreds of miles and can be recharged in minutes. By contrast, lithium-ion batteries now being prepared for cars take hours to charge and can take cars 200 miles or less. Skeptics have wondered whether EEStor can live up to its claims.
A six-month delay isn't that serious of an issue for a start-up, and a number of clean-tech companies have faced delays this year. Tesla Motors had to postpone its electric cars a few months, while in solar both Miasole and DayStar Technologies have had delays. So has GreenFuel Technologies, which wants to turn algae into fuel and clean carbon dioxide from the environment. But it's not great news either, and underscores the difficulty of bringing some of these green technologies to market.
Zenn, which invested in EEStor earlier this year, currently sells low-speed electric cars that run on more conventional batteries. These low-speed cars, which are similar to those made by other small manufacturers like Miles Automotive, are designed for campuses and retirement communities. The U.S. Department of Defense has also launched a program to buy a significant number of low-speed vehicles.
For more information, you need to go to Zenn's Web site. EEStor doesn't have one.
You can't learn a lot from looking at the Web site of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers either. The firm is reportedly an investor in EEStor, but EEstor is not listed as a portfolio company on the firm's site. Venture firms, however, do this at times with stealth companies.
(Credit:
Zenn Motor)
Is it possible to achieve dharma at 25 mph?
The Zenn (which stands for Zero Emission, No Noise), available since February from Feel Good Cars subsidiary Zenn Motor, can be purchased from 33 dealerships throughout 20 U.S. states.
Surprised that you've never heard of the two-"n" Zenn? That may be because the company doesn't plan to have an official car-promoting launch until September 9, a company representative told CNET News.com last week.
Priced between $12,750 and $16,000, depending on options selected, the car offers a driving range of up to 35 miles per charge. And while the car can theoretically go faster, it tops out at 25 mph, in keeping with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Regulations for this type of car.
Ironically, while the Zenn was developed by a publicly traded company based in Canada, it has not yet been approved for street-legal driving in Canadian provinces. But it's among one of the electric cars you can buy right now in the United States.
Of course, that's not the most interesting thing about this company.
In April 2007, Zenn Motor paid about $2.5 million for a 3.8 percent share in EEstor, a company that claims to be developing a revolutionary technology that will offer a much longer charge range than those of prevalent chemical batteries. It remains to be seen whether future versions of the Zenn will have this "super battery."
While Zenn cars may have a special power source from EEStor, its current three-door hatchback model offers a battery that can become 80 percent recharged in 4 hours, or fully recharged in 8 hours, from any standard 120-volt outlet.
And for our left-loving neighbors in the United Kingdom, Japan and elsewhere, Zenn Motor posts in its specs that it is also offering a right-side drive option.
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