When the weather warms up, weddings begin populating the calendar & love is in the air. In the business world, corporate courting occasionally leads to similar unifications. Today, Zenn Motor Company announced the intention to repeat their vows with EEStor in a press release issued this morning. New board chairman, Jim Kofman pledged "to increase its interaction with EEStor and, where appropriate, collaborate with and assist EEStor." In exchange for carrying out this important new priority, Kofman quietly announced he will be seizing a mere 150,000 stock options. Additionally, Rick McGraw and Brian Cott have officially ejected Zenn perhaps as part of the effort to have "reduced operational activities and an increased emphasis on collaboration and value creation around its unique relationship with EEStor?" Later, Zenn plans "a further simplification and restructuring of the organization" ending in a team of approximately 5-10 key players including Jim, Roger, Allan, Ian, Dick, Tom, a few others & "the bag headed one."
EEStor declined to comment on this story.
Do these new beginnings make other EEStor partner, Lockheed Martin, jealous? As of this morning at least, Lockheed Martin's Craig Van Bebber says there is "no change to our agreement." Incidently, if you must know, that statement is nearly the answer to every EEStor question you lob towards Lockheed Martin these days. Do they feel they've lost credibility for linking up with EEStor? "No change to our agreement." Are they worried that they jumped the gun on a perpetual motion equivalent? "No change to our agreement." Why haven't they pumped about $50mil into EEStor? "No change to our agreement." Are UAV's going to have EEStor batteries? "No change to our agreement." How do you handle disagreements with EEStor? "No change to our agreement." The agreement was green initially but now it looks a bit blue in color? "No change to our agreement." Does the agreement age poorly? "No change to our agreement." AFRL thinks you guys are nuts. Are you? "No change to our agreement." It is a bit robotic but makes it easier to complete this article.
So of course, now, finally, after all of these years, Dick Weir has everything in place as he wanted it and is ready to take center stage and let the cat out of the bag, right? Sure, ok.
Note: Nothing in this article originated from a drunken txt message.
According to a late night Zenn Motor Company press release, "certain shareholders of the Company" have received cooperation from Zenn management to allow three new individuals to take seats on the Zenn Board of Directors. Departing board members include Brian Cott, Stephen Rodgers & John R. Wallace.
What does this mean? First of all, it means the new board of directors could seriously pummel almost any other board of directors in Canada. On the business side, Kofman has experience with "some of the largest M&A transactions and financings in Canada" according to the release. Essentially, if you're planning to purchase Zenn Motor Company, you will now need to crawl on your hands and knees and politely relinquish your bid to Sir James Kofman. As for Gregg, he currently sits on the Advisory Boards of General Motors Canada & Bank of Montreal. Take a look at his interesting interview of Jeff Rubin back in 2009. Actually, check out all of his interviews on youtube. If you have the time and means, it probably wouldn't hurt to do a voice analysis to establish once and for all that he and I are not the same person. As for Roger Hammock, what can I tell you other than that he owns over 1mil Zenn shares? Well, one thing I could tell you is I had a couple beers with him in Los Angeles last year and got a debrief on why he owns that many Zenn shares. I can tell you that he & I had a lot of agreement on where EEStor is headed and how Zenn can maximize what it has. More on that later.
Former Zenn Motor Company Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Dennis Hancock is suing ZMC & executive Brian Cott. The case is summarized in a supposedly publicly available document from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice Court File No. CV-10-411405. According to the document, Hancock is seeking $20Mil+, a company car powered by an EESU, a lifetime supply of mood enhancing incense, tangible evidence of UFO's and personal apology from Brian Cott at center ice at next year's Stanley Cup prior to the start of the game. The suit also seeks all of Cott's frequent flyer miles earned from travel to/from the People's Republic of China along with any cool recipes for peking duck he may have acquired while on business travel. In an interesting countersuit, Cott, if proven innocent, is seeking the right to fire Hancock repeatedly just prior to each of his family vacations regardless of where Hancock works. Hancock would also need to change his name to Hancott.
I will not comment on the merits of the case as I'm not qualified to do so. However, it is interesting to ask what exactly such a lawsuit is an argument over in the first place. Is it a fight over an empty bank account or a future blockbuster company rocketing to the top on the back of breakthrough technology?
I for one look forward to all of the kook comments coming from the Short & Distort team as to how the Zenn/EEStor scam conspirators cover their tracks by suing each other over a wrongful termination issue. Geniuses.
PS: I made up some of the things Hancock is suing for. I think the money part is real. Don't take my word for it, research it yourself.
One of the claims made often by EEStor skeptics is that the science behind EEStor's technology is impossible. Capacitors, by their very nature, the argument goes, can't possibly achieve an energy density that exceeds batteries.
Is it time to safely relegate that opinion to myth?
Not all of the facts are in yet. And the project only received $1Mil. However, the purported benefits of this "novel energy storage device" are to "catalyze new, related cleantech industries and contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases and oil imports."
In summary, we have here a 'battery alternative' called a "high energy density capacitor' which is not described as a power conditioning device (as many current automotive ultracap projects are due to limited energy density of traditional ultracaps) but rather as an alternative to batteries, aka, devices with much greater energy density that capacitors. For good measure, the category under which the project was chosen is called, " Batteries for Electrical Energy Storage in Transportation."
Here is the PSU project description from the DOE website:
Recapping Inc. (Penn State Univ.) Capacitive Storage: High Energy Density Capacitor Recapping Inc. and researchers at Pennsylvania State University will seek to develop a novel energy storage device based on a 3D nanocomposite structure with functional oxides that provide a very high effective capacitance. The basic fabrication of the dielectric materials and devices will utilize traditional multilayer ceramic fabrication methods that will provide a cost effective alternative to battery solutions, with added benefits of exploiting mechanisms that could maintain higher cycling and possibly deliver charge with high power density. This technology hopes to create a cyclable and economically competitive energy storage device that will catalyze new, related cleantech industries and contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases and oil imports. $1,000,00
The DOE announcement included several other interesting energy storage projects including one for A123 Systems earning $4.3Mil. Stanford University also received a grant for a technology that at least one EEStory observer believes is on the same path as EEStor Inc.
The Penn State researchers responsible for the project have not yet been verified.
Here is the Stanford project description from the DOE website:
"Novel Battery: The All-Electron Battery: a quantum leap forward in energy storage In this project, researchers Stanford University will seek to develop an "All-Electron Battery", a completely new class of electrical energy storage devices for electric vehicles that has the potential to provide ultra-high energy and power densities, while enabling extremely high cycle life. The All-Electron Battery stores energy by moving electrons, rather than ions, and uses electron/hole redox instead of capacitive polarization of a double-layer. This technology uses a novel architecture that has potential for very high energy density because it decouples the two functions of capacitors: charge separation and breakdown strength. If successful, this project will develop a completely new paradigm in energy storage for electrified vehicles that could revolutionize the electric vehicle industry and establish U.S. leadership in advanced energy storage technology for electric vehicles."
You know who you are: an intense EEStor skeptic beating your chest in conjunction with the pure light of reason or a part of a cadre of EEStor fanboyz, beating your chests in conjunction with the pure light of reason or some blogger with a bag on your head, beating your chest in conjunction with the pure light of reason. ...in conjunction with this paragraph.
After releasing their Smart Grid sEESUite amid a barage of online questions concerning EEStor and only EEStor, Lockheed marketing has made a conscious decision to "have a little fun" with the online characters following EEStor as evidenced in this new promotional video for sEESUite posted on Youtube a couple weeks ago.
Skip over to 3:18 of this video and have a look at the EXAMPLE ELECTRIC CAR. Yes, that's correct, it is a Zenn vehicle. Alert! Alert! sEESUite Smile Sensor shows a threshold violation and we will need to shut down this blog article immediately before we are overrun with...the pure light of reason.
A renewable energy blogger I correspond with occasionally shared with me details of his recent interview with Dick Weir taken on Wednesday, March 24th 2010. He had no current plans to publish it because the topics he was mainly inquiring about did not receive comments from Weir.
In the interview, Weir made several comments on a number of other topics however.
1) Weir feels strongly that the release of his audio to the Internet was "a lousy trick" and "probably illegal."
2) EEStor now has 5 patents. (a quick poll of some TheEEStory regulars suggests only 4 are publicly known...speculation is that this might be the grid leveling patent but there's no way to know for sure)
3) After making clear that it was not his place to comment on Bloom Energy (instead recommending people talk to Bloom or Kleiner Perkins), Weir stated that "they put a lot of money into it. I've spent much less time and a fraction of the money" implying a direct comparison of the value of EEStor over Bloom. The blogger taking the interview suggested Weir was saying more about Bloom than he wanted to say and sternly broke off his comments by referring him to Bloom.
4) Weir was adamant that EEStor has never published an official statement of EEStor's development schedule. "People say we're late. We're not late! Zenn put out some things but we didn't authorize those statements." While it's true that EEStor has never published a schedule, it's also true Weir has made statements about timing on multiple occasions to multiple reporters. As to whether EEStor can be praised for rapid development, the only evidence we have on that is public statements made by Ian Clifford. Without knowing where EEStor is in it's development, we can't yet say whether or not it's true.
5) Weir insists EEStor's PR strategy is a no-hype strategy. He feels there are many "rude remarks" about EEStor on the Internet which are probably coming from competitors. He says that "there are knowledgeable people" who say many complementary things about his EEStor work.
6) EEStor's current published certifications of their work were not paid for by EEStor.
In another interview this past Friday, theEEStory.com regular Larry visited EEStor and Weir offered the following comments:
7) on Carl Nelson's illness: he is feeling better.
9) Larry mentioned to Weir that Ian Clifford recently stated that he has no doubts about the viability of EESU now. Weir replied to say that Zenn does not speak for EEStor.
10) Larry also reminded Dick that he has stated the R&D at EEStor was complete to which Weir replied twice, "What?!"
Just a friendly reminder to anyone curious about this: it is my personal recommendation that people not visit EEStor without EEStor's express invitation. It can be perceived as harassment and you might even have the police get involved. That, of course, is entirely EEStor's call.
I was disappointed by the AGM. I think the target should have been:
1) say a few encouraging words about EEStor progress that is tangible yet respects the NDA
2) say a few encouraging words about success marketing Zennergy to the automotive market
I think the market opportunity discussion was not as important as expanding on the facts surrounding marketing it to potential automotive customers. Innocuous facts like, number of meetings, number of repeat meetings, etc seems like it would have been helpful. Interested parties aren't asking for highly secret information---anecdotes of a generic nature would be very helpful but not harmful.
Concerning the alleged harassment case: it does not appear that the correct facts of the case were actually brought to light in regards to the human rights commission. Keep in mind Zenn that the best way to put something behind you is to not create new opportunities for additional questions.
In my unhumble opinion, the single biggest challenge for Zenn at this point in time is to prove that the burn rate is actually accomplishing something tangible and concrete when placed against the backdrop of the fact that no one knows when EEStor might announce something. Also, there seems to be no sense of if the wait for EEStor might be 30 or 90 or 240 days.
So, to prove the burn rate makes sense, someone needs to elaborate on the "outsourcing" that is currently occurring. That is a very mysterious destination for investor funding at the present time and I'm sure if a bit of information could come out about it, it would be well received.
Finally, I think the missed opportunity to provide an encouraging message at the AGM is a direct function of the distraction caused by mishandling the harassment case. This needs to be placed in the rearview mirror as a much accelerated pace. Had the AGM gone over better with me, maybe it would have convinced me it is NOT a distraction.
Note to Rick McGraw: hope you're feeling better today. Shoot me a copy of your Doctor's permission slip. Thank you.
Brain Surgeon, Dr. Lyle Dennis of Gm-Volt.com, cracked open my mind today (I didn't feel a thing and was actually awake the whole time) to a report from a trio of analysts at Deutsche Bank claiming greater optimism for the future of electric vehicles including primarily that the price of batteries "appear to be coming down faster than we expected." The sharper decline in pricing "implies potential for more rapid EV penetration," according to the report.
I would like to echo what the astute seers--Rod Lache, Dan Galves & Patrick Nolan-- from Deutsche Bank have pointed out for us with one slight modification. Not only will the price of lithium ion batteries continue to fall--in my opinion--but they will soon enough become more worthless than dirt. Dirt, as you know, has many uses and for the most part, you don't have to pay any fees to dispose of it as it just sort of stays where it is. Lithium ion however, is a toxic substance. Accordingly, I predict that the introduction of the EEStor EESU into the market place will rapidly turn lithium ion assets into toxic liabilities....worth less than dirt, when you factor in the appropriate regulations that should eventually be introduced to keep them away from the water table.
Many have wondered why I haven't posted an interview with EEStor's Dick Weir in quite some time. Well, today, I think I can finally shed some light on that issue. As it turns out, EEStor has been in agreement with having another interview for a long time. However, I have been unwilling to agree with their one condition. But, in light of the fact that so many people want to know what is going on now, I decided to bite the bullet and I agreed to their conditional offer in order to get the interview.
In this interview with EEStor founder Dick Weir, I was able to ask any question I wanted. No holds barred. However, the answers provided by Mr. Weir would be---and this is the condition---would be expressed only via a Jamaican dialect.
B: Dick, it's good to be speaking with you again. It's been a long time and this format you've required should probably be addressed from the outside. So, why the Jamaican manner of speaking today?
DW: Dat a mi brudda. Jamaican mon, mi luv a Jamaica, mon. Mi did de day a mi own in Jamaica, mon.
B: I see. Ok. If it's your preference. First question, can you please provide an update on the status of EEStor's commercialization effort?
DW: Da tists a go a home rrreeeun mi brudda. Dis lef nuttin but da prahducks ah rah bots a crunkin Lawd 'ave mercy pan mi bones. Someting a see, mon. Nuh dun yet. Buh di for di tree tousand jooles cc, mon.
[Longish pause]
B: Ahem. Go on.
DW: De nex one mi brudda.
B: Oh, ok. So, when might we hear some sort of announcement from EEStor?
DW: Mi a go bak a wuk pan Chewsday a may pan de Fraday a fe da patans a nite. Nuh di inna buks inna woryd ga dat. Nuh di profs a me fambly. Galang bout mi business inna de bik mi brudda. Aright? Put dis all inna de bag. Inna de bag, mon.
B: That's great news. It must feel really good to be where you are and on the cusp of doing some really important and great things. But, your choice to maintain such a low profile has lead to many vocal critics saying quite a few nasty things such as that you're incompetent and worse, that you've orchestrated everything as part of a scam. What do you say to those skeptics out there who believe this today?
DW: Smaddy tell me sey did a chat bout mi. De bwoy a de biggest liad. Mi wud radda yu nuh chat a mi. Yu see? Dis a skeps tahs uh pan a mango tree, mi brudda. I'm jook mi inna mi yeye. Yu ave an idea.
B: Understood. How is Carl Nelson getting along?
DW: Carl is mi brudda fra ah nudda mudda. Jus lika brudda inna mi haht. No bodda bawl Carl soon cum bak.
B: Tell him we wish him all the best. Moving on now, would you be able to say a few words about your work with Lockheed Martin?
DW: Coodeh, yuh see de big bud eena de sky ah mi Lawd 'ave Mercy. Lockheed mek up thim mind arredy bout de awl of de midda east. Jesum Peeze, a cyan bleve dat wi lose de contree. So dah mista Stevens issa wan big mon. Ya wa see but kept de sinting inna de bag. Butta goooda di questyon, mon.
B: What about Kleiner Perkins, how do they feel these days?
DW: Len out de money an no troubles. Happy like du buds in da tree, mon, smokin de ganga wit mi brudda Carl. But mi brudda carl mak eh mi call dis da "Cannabis" da CAN AAHH BIS. [said slowly and emphatically] De Jon Doerr mak eh Carl call dis de Midical Manywanna a goin green. Oh brudda. [laughing... then a pause as if Weir is taking a drink. A large beer possibly. ]
B: I definitely believe that. And as for your other partner, Zenn Motor Company. Do you have any thoughts on when they might receive their first pre-production unit?
DW: I be tellin a Ian a lang time mi dey inna dis close anna no cigah. Buttta mi askin fa du big jesu a tree days now inna mango tree. Das it. Na bye ti de next time mi rohbatd de callin mi. Bye mon.
[phone hangs up abruptly.]
This interview took place today via phone with Dick Weir at his production facility in Cedar Park, TX
Everyone knows by now that Dick Weir writes patents at night. What no one seems to know for sure is WHY he writes them at night. (day and night, to be correct) The answer is not easy to come by which is why we must refer to the visual arts to explore the matter further. The first thing we should recognize is that a great deal else occurs at night, other than patent writing. So, maybe the answer is somehow a little of both. At least, that's what is suggested by the recent work of EEStory legend, AD2. (Keep in mind, from prior work, we know the man knows what he is doing.)
In yet another mystery chapter from the EEStory, we find that EEStor has been granted patent 11/453,581. Originally filed in June 2006, this patent for a METHOD OF PURIFYING BARIUM NITRATE AQUEOUS SOLUTION, had it's patent Issue Notification mailed on Dec 30,2009 and the Patent Grant Mailed on January 19, 2010. At first look, it appears to have stayed under the radar until now.
If you examine the Image File Wrapper, you'll notice some interesting references to arguments made by Carl Walter Nelson. Also, the prosecution of this patent included a telphonic interview with EEStor's representative John Schell. What was discussed? "Applicants believe the step-wise purification provides benefits such as removing strontium while keeping barium in solution."
I predict further nuggets will emerge from this patent. So, if you must, please enjoy your own favorite aqueous solution with a toast to sages, Weir, Nelson & Clifford, praise be their name.
I spoke to GM-Volt.com's Dr. Lyle Dennis for the first time this past Friday. We compared notes with each other on our latest story leads and talked a great deal about EEStor. Dennis is hooked into GM and from his latest blog post, you can see that he does inquire periodically as to whether or not anything from EEStor is trickling up to GM. It doesn't appear to amount to much yet. But there may be more coming. But that's not my story. Stay tuned.
In the meantime, here's an excerpt from the GM Volt article:
"I often mention EEStor to GM executives when I get the chance. I recently asked Volt vehicle line chief Tony Posawatz what he knows about EEStor.
“I have heard a little bit,” he said. “Certainly the press releases are interesting, it causes you to take note and follow it.”
“The guys involved in it certainly aren’t a fly by night operation,” he noted. “Still some of the claims, knowing what I know, are way out there.”
-------
Is he referring to EEStor only or including in his assessment Zenn Motor Company?
NASA released a treasure trove of EEStor documentation today including revelations that they have already purchased EEStor Technology. According to internal documents obtained from a recent FOIA request, at least one NASA official has indicated making a purchase of EEStor technology for testing purposes. In the January 16, 2009 email, NASA researcher Robert Ambrose is responding to an internal query about EEstor and writes:
"We have been studying them for use in our regenerative braking scheme, where they need high specific power, but don't need a large total energy. We purchased some and will build them into a flywheel test that we do for all our servo drive systems. "
Ambrose was unavailable for comment due to a meeting he is attending in the Netherlands.
The apparent purchase of EEStor technology would be the first publicly known transaction for the technology to date. Included emails from other officials express doubts which were filtered to Ambrose because of his apparent knowledge of EEStor.
The documents released today by NASA also contain a presentation from EEStor where they claim their future generations of EESU will have two to eight times more energy density than their first generation technology. Thus, the much discussed 52kWh EESU could go as high as 416kWh or in other words, the 300 mile Electric Vehicle range could become 2400 miles.
The presentation also includes a slide comparing EEStor specifications to those of lithium battery maker A123 Systems.
This release of new information about EEStor comes on the heals of a bit of dissappointment surrounding whether or not EEStor successfully completed component and/or UL testing. Without a public announcement, many followers have been starving for net new news (NNN).
As with most EEStor stories, you can be certain a predictable hysterical debate will ensue on TheEEStory.com, the official site for hysterical EEStor debate.
I've been following EEStor long enough that I no longer link to just any article that appears with the keyword 'eestor' in it. But, I think Steve Ladurantaye's article on EEStor deserves a link due to the effort he put into it. First, he somehow got Kleiner spokeswoman Brianna Woon to indicate that EEStor is in stealth mode. Kleiner Perkins CB has never made a public statement about EEStor ever (TMK)....until that quote, if you take Woon to be a spokesperson for KPCB. Kleiner Perkins contracts certain aspects of media relations to Burson-Marsteller, Woon's employer. Personally, I love the quote he has captured. I've spoken to Woon in the context of groveling for an interview with a KPCB partner. Time after time, I've been turned down. But of all the Kleiner people I've ever actually spoken to, Woon is by far, leagues above the rest in terms of courtesy and passion for her role. However, I suspect her job may now be at risk given the incredible silence from Kleiner on the topic of EEStor.
Secondly, I love what Ladurantaye has captured in terms of the skeptical quote from the University of Waterloo's Linda Nazar:
“Silence doesn't have to mean they haven't discovered something useful, but it often means things don't work the way they perhaps expected.”
To invoke such a statement, I imagine Ladurantaye must have said something provocative and thick such as, "EEStor has been so quiet. They must have what they claim." :-) Note to Nazar: go spend 8 years working under Arthur Von Hippel at MIT and we'll talk. (She's a chemist with a background in lithium ion research, according to her website).
But, you have to give Ladurantaye HIGH PRAISE for capturing a truly classic EEStor quote from Maxwell's John Miller, (not that John Miller): "I'm perplexed by any sort of suggestion that they are in any way one of our competitors." Miller cites production volume, existing sales and probably 457 other things that Maxwell does now that EEStor does not. But of course, those 457 things don't matter if EEStor has what they say they have. So Miller's perplex-ion is well placed if not mistated.
Yes, Ladurantaye screwed up the discussion of "fierce online debate" by not mentioning by name TheEEStory.com but he can be forgiven, this one time.
Prior to his article's publication, Ladurantaye exchanged a few emails with me. I can tell by his article's omissions that he didn't understand some of the information I provided him. Not to worry, for now, it's slated for the documentary.
If you keep a pulse on TheEEStory.com, you will already know that one of it's patent applications was approved for issuance. Well, TODAY, the patent was issued officially as Patent 7,595,109 B2.
A patent agent, Daniel A. Pearson, whose main specialty is pharmaceuticals, has said:
"The patent claims in U.S. Patent No. 7,595,109 are very good claims for Eestor, especially if you believe that coating the CMBT with alumina is important for the energy storage properties they are reporting. There is nothing controversial here IP-wise.
If you want to consider a story that is not so straightforward, check out the intellectual property situation that A123 has found itself in."
Also, to place this latest patent into a context, have a look at GaryB's EEStor Spreadsheet which includes all of the related patent, trademark, FOIA, permits, info etc.
"The previously announced cityZENN highway capable electric vehicle will not be developed into a standalone commercially available offering. Management believes that this refinement to the Company's business strategy and focus provides for the most efficient allocation of Company resources to maximize future profit potential."
With that, Zenn Motor Company announced via press release today that they have officially abandoned the production of their own branded, CityZenn, electric vehicle. The news comes as little surprise to all but a few who have not followed the Zenn Motor Company story closely. Hinted at previously at the annual shareholder meeting was the fact that CityZenn, in it's best case would be only an example platform, it is not surprising that they have officially called it quits.
I spoke to Marc Korchin, a Zenn Motor Company retailer in Berkeley, CA. He was not disappointed in the lost opportunity sell a CityZenn because his current business is focused on conversions and the sale of the Wheego. Essentially, as Korchin tells it he had not invested too much time hoping for the CityZenn due to trying to keep his business going now.
On the other hand, another dealer who asked that he not be identified in this article said he is "profoundly disappointed" by the loss of not just the CityZenn but the loss of the LSV oddly enough, which will also be discontinued after the 2010 model year (according to the dealer). Started more as a mission to help combat global warming rather than a enormously successful business, this anonymous dealer shared with me that he had invested a significant sum launching his Zenn retail dealership and wonders how easily he will be able to sell his remaining vehicles. He learned of the halt to the CityZenn plans via the Reuters article that broke the story. Although he went to great lengths to say he found the persons that he dealt with at Zenn to be very friendly and helpful, he was disappointed to learn about the plans via the news.
When he first read of Ian Clifford's initial statement about not wanting to be a vehicle manufacturer a few months ago, he emailed Zenn officials wondering how he could sell cars when the President of the company was saying essentially there was no future in building EEStor powered vehicles. At the time, he was assured the statement was taken out of context and that there would be a future. Later, when he heard a rumor that the LSV would also hit the chopping block, he inquired again and was told the same thing that this was only rumor.
I asked Zenn about these issues today and Catherine Scrimgeour provided the following information:
ZMC is in the Low Speed Vehicle business and is carrying forward the current ZENN as a 2010 model that will be introduced in mid-October and we will continue to provide service and parts support for all our customers.
"We have received a request to certify EEStor's product," said Priya L. Tabaddor, PhD, Global Energy Services, Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.
Additionally, back in July, I scored an interview with Jace Curtis from PTI, the company who ZMC contracted to validate the EEStor permittivity testing performed by Dr. Ed Golla. Dick Weir had indicated possibly working with them to prepare and/or complete UL certification testing with them. In the interview, Curtis provides good background on UL's relationship to OSHA, etc. Basically, companies can reduce the amount of time it takes to obtain UL certification by pretesting products before doing the actual testing. Also, according to Curtis, one of the last things a company does before releasing a product is to perform UL testing. It's on the right side of the gant chart.
I spoke to Carl Watkins today. He was just back from a trip to Eurobike. Watkins indicates that since we last checked in, his firm has made contact with just about everybody in the ebike world including the major 3 wheeled vendors out there. There have been tons of inquiries not just about production availability and timing but also about whether or not LightEVS will one day IPO. For now, Watkins doesn't see a need to go public. Once a demo units become available, his feeling is, understandably, that those willing to be supplied EESU's will finance the lift off of his company.
For now, everything is in wait and see mode until EEStor makes it's next move.
According to alert TheEEStory.com user SmackYYZ, Zenn Motor Company posted some new jobs online. The project management positions would report to VP of Engineering, Michael Bergeron. According to the fine print of the job description, the new hires would be expected to also invent a new 52kWh barium titanate based energy storage solution. I'm kidding.
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- 09/03/09 -- ZENN Motor Company Inc. ("ZMC" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: ZNN) a leading developer of zero emission transportation solutions and technologies, today announced that it will participate in the Rodman & Renshaw Annual Global Investment Conference on September 10, 2009 at the New York Palace Hotel. Ian Clifford, Founder & CEO, will review the company's growth strategy at 3:15 p.m. Eastern Time.
A live audio webcast of the presentation will be accessible via the ZENN Motor Company website. To hear the presentation please visit the website atwww.zenncars.com for the appropriate link. A replay option will be available for ninety days.
About ZENN Motor Company Inc.
ZENN Motor Company, Toronto, Canada, is dedicated to being a global leader in zero emission transportation solutions and technologies for markets around the world. Driven by quality, ingenuity and a philosophy of social responsibility, the ZMC team is redefining what is possible in both urban and business fleet transportation.
The ZENN(TM) (Zero Emission No Noise) provides an excellent alternative transportation solution for environmentally conscious drivers who want to dramatically reduce their operating costs and free themselves from dependence on oil. The current ZENN low speed vehicle is perfect for urban commuters and commercial fleets such as resorts, gated communities, airports, college and business campuses, municipalities, and parks and is sold through a network of retailers across the United States and directly by the Company in Quebec.
The planned commercialization and implementation of the ultra capacitor being developed by ZENN Motor Company's strategic partner EEStor, Inc., is expected to enable future ZMC vehicles and ZENNergy(TM) drivetrain powered vehicles to travel at speeds and distances similar to internal combustion powered vehicles but at a fraction of the cost and with zero emissions!
Contacts: ZENN Motor Company Catherine Scrimgeour Public Affairs 416-535-8395 ext. 201 cscrimgeour@ZENNcars.com
ZENN Motor Company Ian Clifford Chief Executive Officer 416-535-8395 ext. 202
