EEStor Granted Patent, information released.

[tinrobot]

Cedar Park Texas-based EEStor Inc. is an intriguing though secretive company to those who follow the development of electric cars. Although no known prototypes exist, they claim the ability to make extremely lightweight highly energy dense electric storage units (EESUs) that could revolutionize energy storage in electric vehicles. Indeed they have an exclusivity agreement to build EESU-powered ZENNergy drive electric vehicles with the Canadian company Zenn.

<snip>

The core ingredient is an aluminum coated barium titanate powder immersed in a polyethylene terephthalate plastic matrix. The EESU is composed of 31,353 of these components arranged in parallel. It is said to have a total capacitance of 30.693 F and can hold 52.220 kWh of energy. The device is said to have a weight of 281.56 pound including the box and all hardware. Unlike lithium-ion cells, the technology is said not to degrade with cycling and thus has a functionally unlimited lifetime.

http://gm-volt.com/2008/12/21/eestor-is-granted-a-new-patent-on-the-eesu-offering-extensive-detail-on-its-design-and-function/

So finally we get some numbers out of this company -- 52 KWh of electricity in a 280 lb package.

As reference, the Chevy Volt's lithium battery claims a 16KWh in a 400 lb package.

Interesting.

[Schema Thing]

1. hope it's for real

and real world numbers

[cosmik debris]

2. Did you notice

that it takes 3500 volts to charge the capacitors?

[tinrobot]

3. No, but thanks for pointing that out.

Obviously, to put 52 KWh of energy into the capacitors within a few minutes, you'd need that much.

I wonder if there's a slower (and lower voltage) charging option.

[cosmik debris]

4. We have to re-think the charging system.

You can't make this a plug-in electric car without a huge transformer in your garage. Handling high voltages creates another level of risk.

Solve one problem, create two more!

I wonder what the carbon foot print will be when all the costs are calculated and all the problems are solved?

Another potential problem is that some capacitors tend to dissipate their charge when left inactive. I wonder if that has become a problem with this design?

It will be interesting for sure!

[tinrobot]

5. Fast charging is a huge power demand problem...

If you want a car that goes more than 50 miles on a charge and want to charge quickly, you're going to have to go to higher voltages and currents. No way around it.

Getting that much power quickly could easily demand more power than all the houses on your street require for those few minutes. I can see home recharging stations with their own batteries/capacitors to store power between charges. Dribble it in through a garden hose, push it back out through a fire hose. That way the actual vehicle charging process can go fast, but you don't have to dim the whole neighborhood to do it.

Of course, batteries in the recharging station cost more money... and so it goes.

[kristopher]

7. That's true no matter the storage medium.

That's why the first order of business is upgrading the grid. I'd think that the rapid recharge capability will drive infrastructure in a slightly different direction where the idea of charging stations as a business has more early emphasis than home recharging.

I could also see a system where "portals" with automated billing are part of the distribution infrastructure placed at regular intervals on the line poles.

[Citizen Number 9]

8. Charging is not too much of a problem

Transformers are cheap but most residences are not equipped to handle that much current in a short while. I think what they do is put an equivalent capacitor bank in your garage which charges over time via the transformer.

When you plug in, the charge is transferred fairly quickly to your car.

They claim that the charge dissipation rate is low, as little as 0.1% per month which is better than any other storage medium out there.

Because a charge can be transferred in only 5 minutes, the charging could be done at vehicle stations and remove the garage requirement completely.

Moreover, the components of the EESU are all non-toxic which is more than can be said for other storage media.

[Dead_Parrot]

9. Converting gas stations seems like a sane option

Spending a few minutes filling up isn't exactly the end of the world, Whereas sticking that sort of equipment in everybody's garage is going to cost a fair bit - and result in quite a few fried DIY-ers.

[Citizen Number 9]

10. There seem to be a large number of "abandoned" gasoline stations

after the last round of petrochemical ups and downs. These would be ideal candidates for conversion as "down time" won't be so critical to the work. I wouldn't be surprised if a goodly percentage of them needed to have the Underground Storage Tanks removed, which could be accomplished during the conversion. It would be a good use of Obama's public works money and get rid of some environmental liabilities at the same time.

[drm604]

12. Not to mention the millions of people who don't have garages, n/t

[kristopher]

6. This sounds like great news.

K&R and hoping.

[kristopher]

11. Kick for the visitors. nt