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."  

Andy Grove on Electric Vehicles

Here's a good article that depicts a sentiment shared by a growing number of people: that electric vehicles are an imperative that goes beyond whether or not market conditions are favorable. In this case, the spokesperson for the sentiment is Andy Grove, former Chairman of Intel. Additionally, the market for Electric Vehicles needs a governmental push. I would go further and say, at least insofar as I am an American, that we need to unify as a country to make this change happen more quickly.

This is a blog about EEStor and all of it's offshoot relationships like Zenn Motor Co. But its impetus to some large degree is an interest in energy independence. And I do not necessarily mean energy independence for the USA but for humanity as a whole. The adoption of electric vehicles would be a major milestone towards that end.

I think Grove is right in saying a home brew approach would benefit us...ie, individuals and groups experimenting with improvements to make electric vehicles possible. I also blog about a similar technology movement based on hho gas.

And finally, just so my keyboard is disgusted with me for being so long winded. I think all the analogies related to what the USA has done in times of war and to put a man on the moon are very appropriate when it comes to these matters of energy independence. Our economy is not our own until we solve this problem. So sound off and let your representatives know how you feel. House of Representatives, Senate and White House.

EEStor New Facilities

I have it on good authority that EEStor has identified and will be moving to new facilities that are between 200-300 acres. Where, when, etc? Do NOT know. The source is intimately knowledgeable about EEStor. It is second hand information however...but again, from a trusted source.

EEStor Permitivity Test Clue from Richard Weir, EEStor CEO

I spent part of my day trying to figure out why Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers does not list EEStor as one of their investments on their website.  To find out, I called Bill Joy's office and his secretary informed me that KPCB's only investments are the ones listed on the website and EEStor is not listed.  I got the feeling she was a little confused and won't describe the ensuing conversation.  But it caused me to get really curious about this topic and for some reason, I stumbled on Joel Serface as a place to focus more attention.  Why so?  

Well, Mr. Serface is new to KPCB and his prior employment as Director of the Austin Clean Energy Incubator organization which is part of the Austin Technology Incubator. I was told today by someone who has worked with Mr. Serface that he knows everyone in Austin in the Clean Energy space.  I thought it was interesting that Mr. Serface had been quoted in an article that was focused on EEStor and companies like it.  HHhhmm, I thought, Austin Energy Company expert goes to Kleiner Perkins....to do what exactly?   So, I got Mr. Serface on the phone and asked him, "Did Kleiner hire you to run their EEStor investment?"  Simple question, right?  I got alot of no comments but Mr. Serface did say that he was "not involved" with EEStor and that I should seek more information from EEStor or "someone more knowledgeable about the topic."  I said, "should I ask Bill Joy?"  "No Comment."   He was polite but I was clearly not on his agenda today which I'm alright with obviously.

When I originally called KPCB today, I picked someone randomly on the GreenTech team (look it up) and asked the receptionist if I could speak with them. The person I chose had a secretary that indicated he/she did not work on that investment.  I asked that secretary who I should instead talk with and she said, "hang on a second, we have a database...(long pause)...talk to Bill Joy. "  So apparently, what's on the website does not equate exactly to their internal database. 

So, I still felt like KPCB's secrecy about EEStor was strange.  Then I came across this article which talks about their investment in an electric car company from Norway called Think Global.  Their goal is to bring 50,000 EV's to the US late next year. TG uses lithium ion technology.  Now, it's not unusual obviously for anyone to hedge their investment bets.  But it did strike me as a little bit interesting that EEStor's two biggest investors are somewhat significantly competitors in the EV space.   Not a big deal?  Zenn Motor confirmed they had not been approached by KPCB for this initiative. 

All of this t left me wondering about the KPCB investment in EEStor and so I decided to go to the best source of info on this, Richard Weir, CEO of EEStor.  I just asked him directly if KPCB was still invested in the company and he said yes and that he is happy to be associated with them.  We went around the horn a bit and of course, as with everyone out there, I had to ask about the permitivity tests.  That's when a clue popped up that I hadn't expected. 

Blogger:  What about the permitivity testing? Is it going to happen?

Richard Weir: Everything here is quite going along exceptionally well. We're very happy with things. And things are going exceptionally well....as witnessed by the Lockheed Martin contract. What did Lockheed Martin say, "does it work?"  They said "yes".  Next, they were asked can they produce it?  They said "yes."  So there's your answer. "  

The conversation came to an abrupt end.  But I really started thinking about what he said here. This is my take.   If you ask him about the permitivity testing, he will cite the Lockheed Martin statements.  (He did this before in the prior interview. ) He seems to be holding up Lockheed as a quasi-third party entity that is not officially touting capabilities but nonetheless is doing so.  Granted, everyone is waiting for an independent 3rd party test and Lockheed is not the entity to do that. But for some reason today it clicked a bit more.  Everyone's been asking does EEStor have anything that works? If yes, can they mass produce it?  Richard Weir is saying Lockheed knows and has announced the affirmative to both.  

Most Widely Read Article on this EEStor Blog

Just wanted to say thanks to Tom Villars for his work on this prior article where he offered a way of thinking about the value of Zenn Motor's stock. It's been the most widely read article on this blog and readership has crossed into the thousands.   There are quite a few links in from investment & stock forums.