Ceramic Batteries

[Atomb]

from here: http://money.cnn.com/2006/09/1...x.htmQuote »Gentlemen, stop your enginesEEStor's new automotive power source could eliminate the need for the combustion engine - and for oil. By Erick Schonfeld and Jeanette Borzo, Business 2.0September 20 2006: 2:16 PM EDTSAN FRANCISCO (Business 2.0 Magazine) -- The Disruptor: EEStorThe Innovation: A ceramic power source for electric cars that could blow away the combustion engine.The Disrupted: Oil companies and carmakers that don't climb aboardForget hybrids and hydrogen-powered vehicles. EEStor, a stealth company in Cedar Park, Texas, is working on an "energy storage" device that could finally give the internal combustion engine a run for its money -- and begin saving us from our oil addiction. "To call it a battery discredits it," says Ian Clifford, the CEO of Toronto-based electric car company Feel Good Cars, which plans to incorporate EEStor's technology in vehicles by 2008.EEStor's device is not technically a battery because no chemicals are involved. In fact, it contains no hazardous materials whatsoever. Yet it acts like a battery in that it stores electricity. If it works as it's supposed to, it will charge up in five minutes and provide enough energy to drive 500 miles on about $9 worth of electricity. At today's gas prices, covering that distance can cost $60 or more; the EEStor device would power a car for the equivalent of about 45 cents a gallon.And we mean power a car. "A four-passenger sedan will drive like a Ferrari," Clifford predicts. In contrast, his first electric car, the Zenn, which debuted in August and is powered by a more conventional battery, can't go much faster than a moped and takes hours to charge.The cost of the engine itself depends on how much energy it can store; an EEStor-powered engine with a range roughly equivalent to that of a gasoline-powered car would cost about $5,200. That's a slight premium over the cost of the gas engine and the other parts the device would replace -- the gas tank, exhaust system, and drivetrain. But getting rid of the need to buy gas should more than make up for the extra cost of an EEStor-powered car.EEStor is tight-lipped about its device and how it manages to pack such a punch. According to a patent issued in April, the device is made of a ceramic powder coated with aluminum oxide and glass. A bank of these ceramic batteries could be used at "electrical energy stations" where people on the road could charge up.EEStor is backed by VC firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and the company's founders are engineers Richard Weir and Carl Nelson. CEO Weir, a former IBM-er, won't comment, but his son, Tom, an EEStor VP, acknowledges, "That is pretty much why we are here today, to compete with the internal combustion engine." He also hints that his engine technology is not just for the small passenger vehicles that Clifford is aiming at, but could easily replace the 300-horsepower brutes in today's SUVs. That would make it appealing to automakers like GM (Charts) and Ford (Charts), who are seeing sales of their gas-guzzling SUVs and pickup trucks begin to tank because of exorbitant fuel prices.I guess we'll know in a year or two eh?

[zionzr2]

This sounds like an awesome idea. I hope it does work. I also want to know where i can invest in this. It takes around 5 minutes to fill a tank of gas at any gas station some cases longer. A retro-fit at filling stations should be a piece of cake.

[jake75]

Seems to me that in the early 70's the marginal rate for electricity in Ohio was about 1.2 cents per kwh. Today it is closer to a 9 cents in many areas. So $9 gets you 90 kwh. A good physics scholar could tell you how far you could move a 4,000 lb car with 90 kwh of energy in an engine that probably is 50% efficient. Not far I am afraid. Probably 75 miles instead of the 500 mentioned in that article.The US should have developed a sustainable energy policy 30 years ago but all of our politician failed us, aided by the nuts who opposed nuclear power. My favorite bumper sticker of 30 years ago "Nuclear power - safer than Ted Kennedy's car."I read somewhere about the tremendous amount of energy that could be saved if we all used flouro light bulbs. The key is to slap a 100% excise tax on tungsten lightbulbs and give a corresponding tax credit to the flouro bulbs. LED's now have even greater efficiency. Seems to me thjey could be used in traffic lights - they use little energy and last for many years so we no longer would have a $30/hr government worker with a $100,000 truck replacing those lights.

[Atomb]

they've pretty much replaced all the traffic lights in my city with LEDs ...and the GTA too...as the old ones burn out.same with tail lights on public transit buses.i think the biggest irony is that we're trucking our kids (our future) around in vehicles that are the most polluting on the road! Some example for the future of this planet eh?who said anything about a 4,000lb car?!?!

[MRCN RCE]

man that would be one of the best things to happen in this country since the birth of me j/p. but yeah i'd love to see somethin like this happen. i saw the natural gas honda civic, and it's extremely stupid in my eyes unless you're a business owner using it for in-town only type of work. if i remember right, the salesman told me it goes about 90 miles on a tank of gas. but this new idea would be great, especially if the engines/vehicles were built here in the US. just think of all the new jobs that would open up

[GMJAP]

Quote, originally posted by jake75 » LED's now have even greater efficiency. Seems to me thjey could be used in traffic lights - they use little energy and last for many years so we no longer would have a $30/hr government worker with a $100,000 truck replacing those lights. Pretty much all the traffic lights around here are LEDs.

[GrayFox]

"A four-passenger sedan will drive like a Ferrari" this is interesting...