Where will you charge your electric car? Starbucks?

Back in Sept of 2007 when CNET originally posted this lightweight article discussing the possibility of recharging EEStor EESU's at Starbucks, gasoline cost us about 32% less than it does today, according to a chart I found at GasBuddy.com.  With recent news of Starbucks having to close 600 stores because fuel costs are keeping away customers, it's worthwhile to ponder once again how big of an impact EEStor technology could have on our daily lives.  

So, in reflecting about this aging CNET article, I was thinking how great would it be for someone like Zenn Motors or any EV like Toyota Prius or GM Volt to be able to sell the economic benefits of their vehicles at a Starbucks???   If Starbucks ever did become a charging station for a cityZenn or other electric vehicle, I guess it wouldnt be too illogical to think also Starbucks could sell the cars as well.   Hello Gas Station Industry?   Hello Starbucks Shareholder?  

Why I blog Anonymously

Ever since I set up an email account (eestorblog@gmail.com) for people to contact me about EEStor, I've gotten alot of questions about who I am including whether I am Dick Weir. :-) I wanted to clear the air here prior to an article I will be posting this afternoon.   First, let me remind you that you are reading a blog and not a newspaper.  I'm not a professional journalist and in alot of ways have no idea how to do things properly as a journalist or even as a blogger.  Therefore, be advised you should not rely on this blog for reliable information because it's not guaranteed, promised or implied.  Much of it may be wrong.   I make a best effort to get things right like any one.  If that's frustrating or you want perfect information, you should consult other sources.  Furthermore, I can tell that alot of readers of this blog know more about EEStor than I do. I'm happy to have additional information sources participating here (thank you!).  Finally,  I blog anonymously out of 3 main concerns:  1) i have a day job that I currently do well but really dont want any additional scrutiny over my blogging pastime. So basically, I don't blab who I am because I want to keep my "two lives" separate. 2) In general, I'm not comfortable with going public out of concerns for my family. 3) I am not part of the Facebook/Myspace generation in the sense that I occasionally say some really dumb things that I'd rather not be reminded of 10 yrs from now. Especially on this blog--I have the potential to get things really wrong and I like the freedom that comes with not having this blog on my resume.  For example, just look at some of the grammar and sentence structure in use around here and you'll see its nothing to be proud of. (<-preposition ) So, in relation to the subject matter at hand, I will point out that I do not have a personal or business relationship with EEStor or Zenn or anyone in this story. I do not have a friend who has a personal or business relationship with either party.  Perhaps its deflating for you to learn that I'm just like you--the EEStor story fascinates me and since no one else was doing it, I decided to centralize all the information about EEStor here on this blog. People then ask me, well, how can you get all this information?  I can demystify that as well. As someone who makes their living from sales, I have to get in front of people to be successful.To do that, you have to be able to get them on the phone and keep them on the phone.  That's actually very easy for me. So there you go. I am unreliable source of information, a poor blogger but happy to be here.  (and yes, I do actually get a tiny bit of $ from sponsor links found on the blog) In a couple days, if I feel self conscious about this disclosure I may just delete it. :-) 

Also, as I've mentioned previously, I do have a small speculative investment in Zenn Motors. But if you want to invest in Zenn, do your own due diligence and dont rely on this blog for reliability.  Of course, if you are skeptical of Zenn/EEStor's claims, join the many who have gathered in the comments sections to dissect the story ad nauseum. 

CNN's Miles O'Brien on Electric Cars (updated)

Occasionally, we need to look at some related content here and in this case it is a CNN piece on Electric Cars.  In the story, they interview Marc Geller who has created his own electric car that he charges each night.  Geller's interesting quote in response to a question of why Detroit hasn't embraced a plugin technology yet:  "I would say because they are fearful of how disruptive plugin cars will be and how unattractive their old product line will appear. "   Geller generates some of his energy himself with solar panels on his roof.  Says Miles, "There isn't a new, practical electric car on the market."

I like O'Brien stories.  It seems to me like he is keen on getting news of alternative energies out into the mainstream. 

I've located a bit more web info on Marc Geller.  First, he's a photographer and here's his website:  http://www.marcgeller.com.  Second, here is his blog about plugin cars. 

Third, he links to Plug In America  which will tell you all about plugin vehicles along with a bit of grass roots political action you can take to support them. There is a petition addressed to Automakers to tell them you want plugin technology.   See also, the Electric Auto Association. 

It looks like there is alot of activity on the website and alot of big names being drawn in. It will be great to see if some of that crowd is following the EEStor story and I would really hope they leave a comment here on this post with any additional information they have for this readership. 

Your Chance to ask EEStor a Question

Yesterday, as I was continuing some efforts to do some fact checking, I spoke to an official at EEStor who provided me with alot of no comments and then something different:  an offer to submit a set of questions for board approval to which EEStor would respond in writing.  Now, let me say this very clearly:  I do NOT know if I am being played here or if the offer is genuine. But I was told whatever outcome would be turned around fairly quickly.  My sense is that the list of questions I submit may all get rejected. Then again, I won't know til I submit them.   So in pondering what questions to submit and asking a few interested parties what they thought, it occurred to me that if you read this blog and participate in the discussions, why not solicit some questions from the reader---many of whom in all likelihood have much better questions than I do.   

So, with the above caveat that this may not bear any fruit, I'm throwing it open and asking you to help me get some questions together for EEStor.   Use the comment field.  I'm probably going to moderate the comments so people actually do feel comfortable submitting questions--fair warning to any grumpies out there. 

I asked myself why would they do this now?  In my conversation with the EEStor official, I learned that they feel that some of the discussion about them on the Internet is just plain wrong.  Additionally, I was told, "Alot of people are focused on the wrong things right now.  If they would just put their thinking caps on and take out a calculator, they could figure out some things themselves."  I asked, "So do you read what they say about EEStor on the Internet?" and was told, "Yes and most of it is incorrect."   Additionally, with regard to some of the naysayers who come at EEStor with this or that scientific grounding for why what their doing is impossible, I was told, "There's alot of people in the scientific community with blinders on and if they would open up and look around even outside the USA, they would be opened up to alot more information. There's going to be alot of people with egg on their face."

On a related note, and for what it is worth, I was told that the website design for EEStor is almost complete.  Does that mean it's about to be turned on or is even built?  Dont know.  

Oh yeah, what about the other info I havent posted yet?  Stay tuned!  :-(

EEStor vs other battery technologies

This has been reported elsewhere but thought it was a good addition to the blog. 

Fact Checking

I've been doing some fact checking on some new EEStor information I have.  Stay tuned

Andy Grove Piece

I mentioned earlier that Andy Grove, former CEO of Intel, is attempting to draw more attention to electric cars and electric vehicles.  In a piece published in The American, Grove says instead of striving for energy independence as we did in the 70s, we should be pursuing energy resilience by utilizing government mechanisms to encourage "conversion to electricity in a major way."  The biggest part of that for Grove is electric vehicles (like EEStor enabled cityZenns).  Here's a Grove excerpt:

We have an urgent need for a strategy that can deflect our march toward this “persisting conflict” by strengthening our energy resilience. A policy that favors sticky energy with multiple sources and that aggressively moves vehicles first toward dual-fuel mode and ultimately to running on just electricity provides the answer.

Wait til Grove finds out something on the horizon from the free market could hasten us to his plan's phase 2. 

Interesting New Specification for Predator UAV: Unlimited Range?

When it is filled to the brim with 600 lbs of 95 octane reciprocating aircraft engine fuel, the Predator UAV has a range of approximately 450 miles. To maintain 24hr surveillance over an area of interest, the Predator flies in teams of 4 aircraft which are controlled from a central ground control station manned by 55 people. They cost about $3mil out the door and more than that to maintain on a yearly basis.

But what would happen to the operational costs of the Predator if they never had to land? An EEStor enabled Predator would have ultracaps inside the wings and solar panels outside the wings enabling the aircraft that was rarely required to land. In addition to losing a sizeable amount of weight, the EEStor's underlying physical dimension flexibility would enable designers to put the energy storage units anywhere in the aircraft, including the wings. So says a source familiar with some of the applications under investigation by Lockheed Martin and EEStor. But if EEStor could enable satellite-like capabilities for an existing fleet of aircraft, what would DARPA do with it's Vulture program which could in fact become obsolete before it even reaches the prototype phase??? Imagine a change in technology happening so profoundly quickly that even the US Dept. of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency is behind the curve.

It's one of the less talked about aspects of EEStor's technology: it's flexibility in terms of physical dimension. Unlike the space requirements of current battery technologies, EEStor will have the ability to create custom EESU's for applications such as the Predator UAV. Need an EESU in an aircraft wing? No problem. Need an EESU in a car door or power station wall or an ipod shaped like a necklace or wristband? No problem. EEStor's promise is not simply enabling storage of energy but doing so with highly customized footprints. Take the modern automobile as an example. For as much diversity as there is in automobile design, one common problem has never been modified much over the past 80 yrs--where to put the internal combusion engine? But with an EEStor, the EESU could literally occupy the bottom 2 inches of the car. Think of all the extra room for additional safety equipment or storage space, etc.

In the coming days, I'll be posting some additional information gained from a source familiar with some of EEStor's discussions with Zenn Motor, Lockheed Martin, Kleiner Perkins and some of the science SME's the financial institutions sent to vet Richard Weir for investment opportunities with Zenn and EEStor. As an appetizer to chew on, this source told me that the GM Volt interview of Lockheed's Lionel Liebman conducted by Dr. Lyle Dennis awhile back was accomplished by subterfuge, ie, Liebman did not know he was being interviewed for a blog article.

More EEStor Information Coming

I hate to be a tease. But I've got alot of really good information coming in the next few days. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some of it out this weekend.  

EEStor Blog Updates

You'll notice a few minor changes to this EEStor blog today.  The immediate intent is to make it easier for people searching for information about electric cars to learn about EEStor and how it's technology compares to other technologies vying for the electric vehicle market. Assuming all goes well, as EEStor develops as a company, it's appeal and recognition will begin with electric cars made by Zenn Motor Co but it will surely move to other applications such as ipods, blackberries, cell phones and even to power grid stabilization, etc.  As Ian Clifford has said of EEStor technology, "from pacemaker to power plant."