Steps Lockheed Martin May be Taking to Dominate the Department of Defense Portable Energy Requirements

Bret "BretSpot" DeCelle, author of the EEStor Timeline, wrote an interesting article on the military battery marketplace and Lockheed's positioning in relation to it. This seems to represent the most comprehensive research related to one of Lockheed's possible use of EEStor technology. Bret's provided a large number of links to keep EEStor addicts clicking for days. Thanks Bret!

Even More on ZNN Stock Value: Pt 2

I'm like everyone who reads this blog in the sense that I'd like to see some expedited effort towards getting a new battery technology into my ipod, blackberry, vehicle and a million other aspects of my life especially my pocketbook.  On the one hand, we're waiting on EEStor to turn on the lights and start giving speeches. But on the other, we're to some degree waiting on each other.   That is to say, as EEStor gains further attention around the world, it necessarily gains 

additional prospective investors in ZENN which in turn acts as a gauge for EEStor's value.  This perceived value makes it easier for EEStor to capitalize itself to grow and bring the benefits of the technology to the world faster.   My personal opinion in studying this story is that Zenn Motors and EEStor have far more to gain from receiving attention of this venture whereas Kleiner Perkins CB gains more if it is kept secret.  And to be blunt, I think we win more if KPCB wins less.  

So, it's important to me as someone passionate about this topic, that we do things on this blog to hopefully accelerate the process.  To that end and in light of Massimo's Fiore's recent analysis of ZENN's stock valuation, I am happy Tom Villar has agreed to update his own work on thinking of the value of Zenn stock as a catalyst for further discussion.  So if you find EEStor fascinating, start talking with people about it--start asking for journalists to cover the story and keep the conversations going.  Email a link to a friend and get this on the radar

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Back on July 2nd, 2008, b was nice enough to allow me to post an analysis on what I thought ZENN Motor Company (ZMC) would be worth which you can read here.  My very amateur analysis put the value of ZMC at US $15 billion in 2012.  Since then a lot has happened and there are even a couple of professional analyst starting to follow the company.  One in particular caught my attention, Massimo Fiore of Versant Partners as he has produced two reports, one from March 2008 and a very recent one published July 18, 2008 which you can purchase here.  Fiore's March 2008 estimate appears to have valued ZMC at roughly US $350 million for 2012 which is considerably less than my estimate of US $15 billion.  At this point I'm thinking I must be way off and this is why I am an amateur and Mr. Fiore is a professional.

 

But then a curious thing happened.  As mentioned above a second report was released just last week with startling different numbers assuming EEStor delivers as promised.  Although the new numbers are still below my original estimates, Fiore is now suggesting a roughly ten fold increase in his valuation.   I will not say anymore about Versant Partners report as they are a business that makes money off selling information and it wouldn't be fair for me to blab all over the web for free what took them considerable effort to produce.  If you are thinking about making a sizable investment in ZMC, you would be an idiot to rely solely on free info like this when professional information is available.

 

For those wanting to convert a company's valuation to a stock price, simply divide the valuation by the number of fully diluted shares.  For ZMC this is roughly 36 million shares.  To give an example using my original estimate of US $15 billion we get a stock price of:

$15,000,000,000 / 36,000,0000 shares = $416 / share.

In the real world and assuming EEStor delivers to spec, the number of shares will be diluted as ZMC issues additional shares to raise working capital.  A number like 45 to 50 million shares is probably more realistic.

 

Now on the surface these valuations seem ridiculous as returns of 6,000% only happen in the movies.  About the only time an average investor has been able to get returns of this size was with a company like Microsoft where stock purchased in the mid 1980s for $0.10 and sold near the peak of $58 would show a return of 5,800% before inflation.  So what is going on here?  I see a couple of possibilities:

 

1. I am clueless and haven't the foggiest idea what I am talking about, a distinct possibility
2. Professional analyst want nothing to do with EEStor as the risk of looking like an idiot if the company doesn't deliver is too high
3. ZMC allows retail investors to get ownership in EEStor under nearly the same terms as the big Venture Capitalist (VC)  firms.

 

If I'm right about the last point it is truly unique and unheard of as far as I know.  As I mentioned above, returns of 6,000% don't happen, but actually they do, just not for retail investors.  Returns of this size are necessary for successful VCs to justify all the risk they take as a lot of start ups flop and don't return a dime.  ZMC's 3.8% stake in EEStor (soon to be 6.2%, see page 13 in the link) is partly what gives ZMC such upside potential.

 

Obviously this is an optimistic vision of what could happen if EEStor is able to deliver Energy Storage Units (EESUs) to ZMC.  Professionals such as Massimo Fiore have to be more conservative as their responsibilities are to factor in all the things that can go wrong instead of focusing on what can go right.  It is my hope the truth lies somewhere in between.

 

Finally since the professionals get to update their analysis, I thought I'd freshen mine up as well with some of the recent news and thoughts from the last two weeks.  Below is an update to what was published in July 2, 2008.

 

 

Although EEStor and its technology are the main focus of this blog, neither EEStor nor its main equity partnerKleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers are publicly traded.  The only equity partner publicly traded is ZENN Motor Company Inc. (ZMC) which paid USD $2.5 million in 2007 for a 3.8% stake in EEStor.  This gave EEStor a theoretical market cap of US $66 million but if EEStor is for real, a true value of the company will need to add more than a few zeros to the end.

 

Since ZMC is the only way for retail investors to invest in EEStor, the question becomes how much will ZMC be worth when EEStor begins delivering product?  To answer this question (or more accurately take a wild guess) I think three items need to be quantified:

 

1. profit margin on EEStor's Electrical Energy Storage Unit
2. EEStor valuation
3. ZMC primary line of business valuation

  

1) EEStor's Electrical Energy Storage Unit (EESU)

 

Assuming EEStor's original business plan from 2002 is still relevant we come up with two specifications that differ based on production volumes:

 

EESU Specifications:

 

Specifications	Prototype / Low Volume	Mass Production
Energy density (Wh/L)	606	1513
Specific energy (Wh/kg)	273	682
Price ($ US / kWh)	$61	$40

 

Since EEStor has been working on a production factory since 2006 the mass produced specifications should be closer to what ZENN gets in late 2008, but recent information calls this into question as it seems the first production line is more a proving line than a typical production line.  Therefore in this analysis I've decided to go with the Low Volume column and we further assume the cost figures are the EESUs production cost, not the wholesale price.

 

ZMC estimates a 52.2 kWh EESU will cost them C $5,200 which works out to a selling price of US $100 / kWh.  Assuming the C $5,200 price includes the buck boost converter and other misc parts, we put the profit margin for automotive sized EESUs at approximately $20 / kWh.

 

2) EEStor valuation

 

The disruptiveness of EEStor's technology is obvious in so many sectors, the task of valuing this company with any degree of accuracy is limited to providing lower limits.  Trying to forecast best case scenarios would be akin to estimating the impact of the personal computer in 1972, something only a time traveler could have done with any level of accuracy.  Therefore estimates are mostly limited to major sectors with known production volumes and where it is relatively easy to determine the cost of switching to EEStor technology.  The major sectors assumed to be significant are:

a) Transportation - Automotive

b) Military

c) Li-Ion Battery Market

2.a) Transportation - Automotive

 

From Dick Weir's and Carl Nelson's patent filed April 12 2001 is is pretty obvious the initial application was seen as a way to enable Electric Vehicles (EV) to replace Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) vehicles.  With gas prices hovering around US $4.00 / gallon in the United States and much higher in most of Europe the incentive to switch to an electric power source with 1/8 the cost of gasoline is undeniable assuming any additional one-time cost are reasonable.  Since an EESU + electric motor + misc parts are roughly only a few thousand dollars more than all the pieces required for an ICE, there should be no one-time cost impediment to buyers.  Thisworksheet attempts to estimate EEStor's profits over a 5 year period using the above assumptions. 

 

2.b) Military

 

Warfare will be transformed by the new types of weapons EEStor will make possible.  Railguns, lasers and other direct energy weapons will obsolete many of today's aircraft and missile systems causing massive shifts in expenditures within the coming decade.  Of course there is also the mundane existing battery systems that will also be phased out as time permits.  EEStor's unique technology allows EESUs to be built to almost any size and shape so undoubtedly the first uses will be nothing more than plug and play replacements for existing battery systems.

 

No serious attempt is made to qualify the types of systems that will be effected.  Instead this worksheet is a SWAG based on a percentage of total US military expenditures in the areas that could reasonable expect to benefit from EEStor's technology.  Use by militaries other than the US are not included as it is unknowable the degree to which export controls will be imposed on the technology for military purposes.

 

2.c) Li-Ion Market

 

Although Li-Ion batteries have made some in roads into the transportation automotive market, the penetration is very recent and does not account for a significant percentage of existing production although this is changing rapidly.  EEStor's technology will obsolete all Li-Ion batteries within 2 to 3 years although existing manufactures will face sudden and dramatic deterioration of their revenue as customers wait for the new UltraCap EESUs to become widely available.  This market is only about $1 billion per year although the margins will be much higher than the transportation sector.  EEStor can expect and additional $400 million / year profit from this sector by the time all Li-Ion manufactures have ceased operation. 

 

3) ZMC primary line of business valuation

 

ZMC has targeted four main areas of operations:

a) Electric Drive Train (ZENNergy Drive)

b) Highway Capable Vehicle (cityZENN)

c) Low Speed Vehicles (ZENN)

d) EV Conversion Kit

3.a) Electric Drive Train (ZENNergy Drive)

 

The ZENNergy Drive is ZMC primary focus and best hope for becoming a major OEM supplier to the major automotive OEMs.  ZMC has exclusive rights from EEStor as reported in ZMC's 2007 Annual Information page 10: 

FGCI has entered into an agreement with EEStor dated August 24, 2004 (with subsequent amendments dated November 26, 2004, September 30, 2005, August 8, 2006 and January 22, 2007) (collectively, the "EEStor Technology Agreement" or "Agreement" in this section) to acquire in perpetuity the worldwide exclusive rights to use EEStor's EESU in the following markets:

• all-electric 4-wheeled personal transportation uses up to 15 kW (continuous output) drive system
• for vehicles with a curb weight up to 1,400 kilograms, net of the battery weight,
• for golf carts and similar-styled utility vehicles, and
• the aftermarket conversion of any internal combustion passenger vehicle to electric drive.

 

The exclusivity does not include high performance sports cars with a drive system of 100 kW(continuous output) or greater.

This exclusivity granted to ZMC locks up a significant portion of the world wide vehicle market as close to 50 million of the 70 million cars produced in 2007 would fall under the 1,400 kilogram (3086 lbs) limit.  Although significant portion of these cars would be in the US market, EEStor technology will allow a return of much larger and heavier cars which have been a trademark of US automobiles for decades.  Therefore I assume ZMC will not be able to stifle adoption of EEStor technology in the North American Market as manufactures can simply side step ZMC and concentrate on EESUs in larger heavier vehicles.  Of course the world vehicle market is so large this shouldn't be an issue and the following worksheet gives profit estimates for the ZENNergy Drive for the next five years.

 

3.b) Highway Capable Vehicle (cityZENN)

 

In many ways cityZENN is an advertisement for ZMC's ZENNergy Drive as it will demonstrate how the ZENNergy can be combined with the body of a traditional passenger vehicle.  This worksheet assumes ZMC meets sales forecast for the cityZENN over the next five years.

 

3.c) Low Speed Vehicles (ZENN)

 

Although this vehicle concept is near and dear to ZMC's founder Ian Clifford, the vehicle itself is more golf cart than car and simply not suitable to the US market in large volumes.  This Kelly Blue Book review sums up the toy car feel of this vehicle.  Hopefully ZMC is planning to market this outside North America.  I am assuming no significant profit from the ZENN.

 

3.d) EV Conversion Kit

 

Although the concept of converting existing vehicles is sure to warm the hearts of treehuggers as it is always seems better to recycle something than make something new, the complexities on converting existing vehicles is daunting.  Modern vehicles have a web of interconnected devices from dashboard displays, heaters, and power brakes.  Mess with one system and all the other require changes as well.  This will limit conversions to large fleets which makes this operation difficult to manage and time consuming as each vehicle type will need it's own conversion kit.  We hope for no net profit from this operation as it could easily turn negative if mismanaged.

 

Summary

 

A final worksheet summarizes total gross profits for both EEStor and ZMC.  I'm estimating a new valuation of ZMC for 2012 of $36 billion with a stock price of $600 / share.

 

Of course if others see the same numbers I'm seeing, it raises the question of whether one of the majors will try to buy ZMC so they can get the exclusive rights to the EEStor's technology.  Even if EEStor releases excellent test results, it will take time for any of the majors to figure out what the technology is really worth.  But once ZMC can successfully start selling cityZENNs and ZENNergy drive trains, then I expect a bidding war to develop for ZMC.  What ZMC is worth at that point is any one's guess and of course whether Ian wants to sell will have some impact on this but at least some the majors are going to see the potential of getting a lock on a huge percentage of global production for at least the next 5 to 10 years.

 

Now if anyone is thinking they should immediately invest their life's savings in ZMC (ticker symbols ZNN.V andZNNMF.PK) because of the analysis they've just read, then click this link for some very important information you absolutely need to know before making your stock purchase.  If you didn't click the link then keep reading.

 

As a total outsider to everything you've seen discussed here is at best back of the napkin estimates and at worst a misleading stinking pile of poo.  Personally I have invested in ZMC up to my limit for speculative stocks and will not be increasing my holdings for the foreseeable future.

 

Cautions

 

When ZENN made the deal with EEStor it was 2004 and gas was selling for around USD $1.80 a gallon.  At that price using EESUs for EVs is very very marginal and conversion kits make no sense at all.  If prices fall anywhere under $3.00 then things aren't nearly as rosy and anything under USD $2.00 and ZENN is kaput.  This dynamic could also explain why EEStor was willing to give ZENN such a great deal as at that time the compact EV market must not have looked very promising to EEStor.

 

Another caution is the price of electricity.  Unlike gas and diesel, electricity isn't fungible.  There are areas in the US where the price of electricity can be as much as 50% over the national average such as in the North East.  Of course there are also areas that can be 50% below the average such as in parts of the Mid West and Great Plains states.  If EVs prove to be a viable solution for ground freight, it will be interesting to see if there is an increase in migration of manufacturing businesses and jobs to states with low power cost.

 

Final tea leaf reading to consider:

 

ZMC is obligated to make a USD $700,000 payment to EEStor on third-party confirmation of permittivity testing of production units and another USD $500,000 upon delivery by EEStor of a production quality EESU.  Successful permittivity testing also triggers an equity funding round where existing equity partners can purchase additional shares in EEStor.  ZMC can increase its ownership to 6.2% of EEStor for USD $2 million. On May 30th ZENN received gross proceeds of CDN $15,225,000 after issuing and selling 4,060,000 shares.

Interview with Richard Weir, CEO of EEStor

Last week, I was able to interview Richard Weir, President and CEO of the secretive company from Cedar Park, TX called EEStor which is working on a technology to challenge the various industries that rely on battery power: cars, gadgets, etc utilising advances they claim to have made in the field of ultracapacitors also called ultracaps.

Here is installment 1 and installment 2. Installment 3.

NOTE: I was able to interview Ian Clifford last week for 30minutes. If you are an entrepreneur or investor, I think you're going to be very interested in what he had to say.

Going into production: Part 3 Interview with Richard Weir

Part of the reason that it's difficult to appreciate the magnitude of what EEStor is working on is because everyone tends to think of our current climate being one where we have an energy problem....full stop. High demand + low supply = high energy prices....high food costs, etc etc. But, what if to move forward, we have to set aside that problem definition and start over by recognizing what is extremely apparent to seemingly only a few: our problem isn't energy sources/supplies, but rather energy storage. Think about it for a minute. You could hop in your SUV and drive it from LA to NYC on one tank of gas if only your gas tank were the size of a bus. Very inefficient but very possible. Yet, none of us ever stops to think that what is swishing around in our tanks today was once 8000 miles away buried under 8 miles of sand. Isn't it the same though and is that really what we want powering us around our way?

Enter EEStor. Solar, wind, wave and all of the other ways of acquiring energy may now finally become viable alternatives due to the one thing so many were overlooking for so long: storage is the problem more so than supply. These ideas were introduced and made clearer for me by Ian Clifford in an interview I will post soon. For now, this isn't going to sink in right away so let's come back to this and pick up where we left off with installment 3 of my interview with Richard Weir, CEO and President of EEStor. (an installment that was delayed by nothing less than 3 days of storm induced power outage at my Washington, DC area home---inside the beltway no less--we really need these ultracapacitors, don't we? )

Proof. That's what everyone--skeptics, competitors, would be consumers-- is waiting for from EEStor. Weir says that they anticipate they'll be in production in early 2009 But, when you talk to him, you notice that despite what he is saying which is essentially "be patient, we will release information when it's the proper time to do so," he is anxious to tell you what's going on. He talks quickly and the words run together so that you're sometimes hearing concepts and not sentences all delivered with a measured giddiness that is clearly detectable. At the end of my interview, just as the tones of our voices were signifying that this interview is coming to an end real soon, I asked for one more question and Weir responded, "I already gave you a ton of information!" and then he chuckled a bit. I asked if I could contact him again if I had follow up questions and again laughing, emphatic "Nope!" but then as if not to offend he says, "thanks for the interest, we'll have some information out soon."

What he is referring to is the permitivity testing being performed by a third party lab. It literally could come out any day now. Success here means, among other things, that EEStor will receive additional investment from Ian Clifford at Zenn Motors. Weir is going to need it because his biggest competitor is Maxwell, a firm with offices in San Diego, CA, Switzerland and China. They would appear to already have a big lead on EEStor in terms of commercialization of IP but for Weir, the comparison is bothersome and his response was probably his only unmeasured statement. I asked him if Maxwell was his biggest competitor and he stated, "how can they be a competitor when their cost is $13,000 per kWH?"

"And you guys beat that pretty well," I asked. "We're under lithium ion which is around $350 to $850 depending on where you're buying it from. " You hear that Maxwell? I'm reaching out to you now for a rebuttal.

He ended the interview by saying, "We'll put out another news release here soon. And that will pretty well define the direction and successes we've had to date and what we're happy about."

What we're happy about as followers of this company is that someone is working on something revolutionary and as garnered enough interest to capture the imagination.

How Fast Can You Partner?: Part 2 Interview with EEstor's Richard Weir

To understand the mindset of Richard Weir, CEO of EEStor Inc, you have to reflect on how intent he is on not allowing his intellectual property to fall into the chaos of a hype machine prior to it's delivery to the market. Keeping a low profile, as the story goes, will allow his team to complete its scientific work of proving, quite simply, that what they have can do what they say it can. It's very likely that we wouldn't know anything about EEStor if it weren't for Zenn Motor Company, who introduced us to the concept of an electric vehicle that could charge in 5 minutes and drive 400 miles. So, Weir is focused and doing his best to avoid the chaos of hype. Perfectly rational, right?

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But what if that aversion to chaos were really stemming from that most unscientific outlook known as greedy fear? You're not familiar with greedy fear? Let me explain it to you. Let's say you're out scuba diving, maybe visiting an old wreck that's been explored countless times before by many other divers, but this time you see something no else has seen. So, you move in for a closer look and a little bit of dusting off here and there and you find yourself staring at $500 billion in gold and diamonds. After you almost drown due to improper breathing brought on by hysteria, you might feel a different form of fear. After all, you've just become one of the richest people in history. That is, if you can actually get the goods from where they are now to where they need to be so they can be liquidated and entered in to your checking account. I imagine most of us would not walk up on the beach and make a public announcement about what we found, where we found it and how we're going to begin carting it out of the water....much less build a corporate website laying everything out for remote users.

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A more likely outcome is greedy fear and involves having a series of paranoid thoughts ranging from the frustration you might feel if a monied organization dropped anchor right over your find and began rapidly sucking out every last dime of your treasure with a giant vacuum. On the other side of things, you might wonder if anyone out there has surreptitiously learned of your find and are finishing up final walkthroughs of your pending accidental death--perhaps scheduled for next Tuesday when you're out walking your dog at 5:30am.

When Mr. Weir walks his dog, what or who might he be thinking about? "Here's what I'll tell you, this is pretty well known. We fit everything from iPods, cellphones all the way up to batteries for Bradley Tanks." So goes Weir's answer to my innocuous question as to what applications we might gain besides car batteries. Did you hear that Steve Jobs? Weir has a new battery for your iPod. Only, when you connect it to your car, it would also power the car not just the iPod. Finally, something truly insanely great! Along with the gadgets he lists, throw in toys and flashlights, etc. In other words, look for a head-on collision with any of these 330 companies. And let's not even mention the automobile or oil industry here to create real spookiness. It's easy to see how there might be alot of unhappy wealthy and organized groups of people who may not see Mr. Weir's work as a great boon.

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And if you have all these potential enemies out there, who are you going to turn to for a little coverage in case anyone gets trigger happy? Why not team with the world's largest weapons contractor, Lockheed Martin, a company currently supplying the US Dept of Defense and Homeland Security with technology, people, and know-how. Get in real tight so that anyone who takes you on is really taking on a massive organization with connections all over government and beyond. That sounds pretty good. What does security like that cost anyway? In EEStor's case, Lockheed only asked for exclusive rights to the entire defense and homeland security industry. Done!

So, I wasn't surprised when I asked Mr. Weir to please give me something new and interesting that no one has written about, something exciting if possible. His reply? "Go back and read what Lockheed Martin said about this. I think that's very exciting. They said two things. They said it works. And they didn't say it works with this or that caveat.... they just said it works. And second, they said it could ramp up into a high volume production environment. I think that's very exciting. So go read what they said about it." In other words, go ask my big brawny, highly trained, well-armed partners what they say about it. So, I took him at his words and did reread the press release and then called the Lockheed press point of contact. That interview will be posted next week.







In summary, a pattern is emerging which may be becoming clearer to you if you want, for example, to invest in the outcome of EEStor's work. Just my opinion but, I would bet that other business deals are forthcoming that involve inking deals with large players in well established markets. EEStor seems fond of exclusive rights deals, so if you want to do business, better have the means.




So you might wonder how EEstor stacks up with Maxwell Technologies, certainly their most advanced competitor. In my next posting, Weir will comment on just that. Also, without asking, Weir provides an update on production schedule and a few personal observations.

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To Hype or Not to Hype: Part 1 Interview with EEStor's Richard Weir

By every conservative measure if all goes well, 5yrs from now, you will be living in Richard Weir's world. Just don't tell him that because that's hype and Mr. Weir is not in the business of producing hype. Today, Mr. Weir, the CEO of EEStor Inc. and his team are narrowly focused on things that feed the scientific soul: certification testing, validation testing, proving the efficacy of capabilities, proving the scalability of manufacturing processes, the purity of chemicals and a host of other things that ordinary people don't worry about when they are driving down the road in their gas guzzling vehicles. But it's the new worries of vehicle owners pinched by the high price of gasoline that is ripening the conditions Weir finds intolerable to carrying out his self set tasks which include the small goal of producing a new type of "battery" with 10 times the capacity at 1/10th of the footprint.

Hype. Giving something more attention that it deserves. Memories of the Segway hysteria come to mind: the idea that a new invention could radically change the metropolitan landscape by eliminating the need for combustion engine vehicles (little did we know that things like doors, windows and seat belts would go too. ) Hype. A condition where news travels virally as the concept or idea of something so drastically captures the imagination of individuals that they are compelled to share what they've heard. They can't help it and it can't be stopped once it's put into motion. Today, what's on everyone's mind who doesn't shop at Neiman Marcus is the cost of gasoline.

The idea that what today costs us $373/month in fuel to get us to/from work could tommorrow cost us $16/month. (see ZennCars.com savings calculator). Ordinary humans cannot help but let the imagination run wild with "What If!?" Hello 50 inch plasma, hello stainless steel grill. Or better, hello not going into foreclosure on my house, hello feeding my kids, hello end to global economic malaise. Hype hype hype.

Does it keep Mr. Weir up at night that the success of his technology could have such a profound effect on hundreds of millions of people? "We're focused on certification and will continue to do so until we have proven first something we can talk about later" Mr. Weir says in a succinct and matter of fact tone not willing to engage in any hyperbole.

In my 10 minutes with Mr. Weir on the phone, I couldn't tell if his barage of polite "no comments" was a page out of Dean Kamen's playbook or Denny Klein's. Kamen used his organization's silence to create one of the greatest free marketing phenomenon's in history for a product that in the end is really just an interesting 2 wheeled electric skateboard. In the end, Kamen now says "hype is the enemy of innovation" but I'm sure his marketing team is still trying to wipe that strange little smile from their faces several years after the events in question. Or is it Denny Klein's playbook? The guy who received organization

crippling media coverage after he demonstrated a car that runs on water utilising hho gas. In Klein's case, it was a matter of being completely unable to continue producing on his vision due to the nonstop calling, emailing, faxing of his small staff. Some of this lead to Klein releasing a website to handle the frequent similar queries.

OFF GRID LIVING: Wind, Solar, Biodiesel

But what about EEStor, why don't they have a website to navigate around those issues?

"When we're producing batteries and everybody is happy, then we'll get a website. " A strange choice of words for the CEO of a company whose capabilities are geared towards eliminating what we today refer to as a battery with what tommorrow we will refer to as an ultracapacitor or supercapacitor or better, "does that ipod have a battery or an ultracap?" The latter being newer technology designed in large part to function similarly to the former but differing mainly in magnitude. "We just don't want to get into the hype business."

But planning and intentions do not always hold up when you're working on something so incredibly great, even your best efforts cannot prevent you from responding to one or two questions delivered rapid fire. In the next installation, we will examine Mr. Weir's weaknesses in this area which revealed in part his take on the scope of his technology, his competitors (hint: he can't find one) , EEStor's distribution strategy (expect the word proprietary) and finally, his advice on where to find the best current information on his company. Oh, and for good measure, where EEStor stands with regard to production timetables.

Christian Science Monitor Article

This is one of the better articles I've read about EEStor. It covers all the traditional angles while underscoring that EEStor's technology isn't just about electric cars but involves practically thousands of uses in thousands of types of devices. Here's an excerpt:

An electric vehicle needs a source of electricity that’s as light and powerful as possible. A lithium-ion battery, the emerging state-of-the-art battery for electrics and hybrids, has a “specific energy” (electricity per unit of mass) of 120 watt-hours per kilogram. EEStor says its light ceramic ultracapacitors have a specific energy more than twice that: 280 watt-hours per kg. By contrast, a lead-acid gel battery used in golf carts is rated at 32 watt-hours.

The article goes on to point out that BMW is evaluating ultracapactitors

Think Ultracapacitors are pie in the sky?

...then have a look at one of the first consumer products based on an ultracapacitor....a flashcell screwdriver! Thanks ultracapacitors.org. There may be an EEStor product in our future after all.

Here's the link to the overview on the Coleman Flashcell Screwdriver. It charges in 90 seconds. It can withstand 500,000 charge cycles. Amazing!!!

Competition for Green Jobs, ZENN & EEstor

Here's a Canadian article that discusses competition for Green Jobs in a world where oil is over $110/barrel and cites Pittsburgh Mayor John Rodriguez' attemps to lure green companies such as ZENN to Pittsburgh.





Here's a little help for the Mayor in the form of a map put together by ASES on the potential for renewable energy jobs across the USA.

Futurist reference to EEStor

Futurist, Jack Uldrich lists better batteries among his top 10 trends for the future of the automobile. As he puts it, EEStor "could soon be building batteries capable of powering a car for 300 to 400 miles."

An Article at the Economist

Here's  a nice overview of the wave of innovations taking place to address  the limitations of traditional batteries.  Of ultracapacitors in general, they say, "they do have a chance...of being one of the 21st century's disruptive technologies.