the energy storage story that just won’t die: hamilton - electrical energy storage systems

An eye-
This week, the state of Texas issued a technical press release on glass windows
The EEStor-based company has spent more than a decade trying to reducecost, high-
Energy storage market with capacity and Super security.
The next morning, Toronto-
ZENN Motor, a minority strategic shareholder based in EEStor-
Its share price rose 150.
It's like the vibrator brought a body back to life.
What happened here?
As someone who has been watching the company closely for eight years, it's still hard to say.
It is clear that EEStor is a story of refusing to die, which may be seen as a good thing given the company's ambitious goals.
My first clean column about EEStor-and the first one to appear in a major newspaper --
It appeared in 2006.
At that time, the company promised to launch an energy storage device (A kind of superDuper capacitor)
A pound of energy is probably 10 times the amount of lead. acid battery.
What's even more impressive is that it will cost half of the cost, in a few minutes, and by the rich non-Toxic substances.
Think about it: with such a technology, the price of electric cars will plummet, and people's worries about "distance anxiety" will disappear.
Your iPhone or BlackBerry may last a week or two for a single charge, and when it runs out, it charges faster than a cup of tea with boiling water.
The energy of wind turbines and solar panels can be stored and dispatched on demand, and the price is reasonable.
EEStor founder and CEO, former fighter pilot Dick Weir, was a sudden, slightly grumpy person in my experience, he didn't publish much public but when he did, he raised expectations about what the company was going to deliver and when.
The same is true of ZENN's management, which, through its investment and technical rights agreement with EEStor, has bet on the farm Weir will offer.
As a listed company, ZENN is an agent for EEStor, a way for retail investors to support this extreme speculative opportunity.
It didn't hurt the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, known for its successful bet on Google and Amazon.
Was it an early investor or a former vice president of computer at Dell.
The chairman of Mort Topfer, who served on the board of EEStor, also said the small company had signed a strategic development agreement with the military contractor, Lockheed Martin.
Unfortunately, we have missed a series of milestones and disappointment over the past seven years.
There is still a loyal group of EEStor followers-known as the "EEStorians"-who follow the company's every move, but to a large extent, those who are early optimistic, even if skeptical, has also withdrawn.
Part of the reason is that both ZENN and EEStor stopped talking, ZENN is almost a shell company that saves cash, while EEStor continues to work in the background.
They learned from the conversation.
This will only cause problems and damage their credibility.
They also learned that their own expectations were unrealistic and did not reflect many of the obstacles that prevented product development, regardless of whether their technology was breakthrough or not.
They need to go where they want to run.
This week's announcement is another small step on a difficult road, but it is a positive step in terms of market reaction.
How positive the explanation is.
The company disclosed that the energy storage "layer" built on its pilot product line is an integral part of its final equipment, which was tested and reviewed independently by expert Rick Ulrich in the laboratory, professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Arkansas.
Ulrich described these samples as "significant progress" and "important breakthroughs ".
"The measurement results are still not close to the EEStor's goal, but an observer who accompanied Ulrich during the visit said that this is enough to prove that this method is effective and the production line is doing its work, it can be improved with some final adjustments.
"At the moment, there are only 80 people in the world who need Will's attention, and in order for those 80 to care about you, you have to post that information," he said . ".
"It's a joke, of course, but it's enough to get the full attention of these people.
The next step for EEStor is to independently authenticate its pre-certification
Production layer.
At that time, large automakers and industrial giants will be invited to obtain test samples.
The story becomes very interesting if they like what they see-building these layers into a complete device that can be tested in a lab in electric tools, mobile devices, and even vehicles.
One might argue that EEStor has lost the window of opportunity because of delays and that other technological worlds have caught up.
Batteries used in later versions
For example, the final version of the Tesla Model S has 240 watts.
Per kg hours, not far from the original EEStor target of 286 Watts
Hourly per kilogramNewark, Calif. -
Envia Systems, a strategic investor in GM, claims it has reached 400 watts.
Hours per kilogram of lithium
Ion technology and commercial products may enter the market by 2015.
But EEStor later claimed that it could double, or even triple, the original target, and even reach an energy density of more than 1,000 watts, thus increasing its game.
A few hours per kilogram, few people can compete with it at this point.
In addition, unlike the battery, its device can be charged immediately and has unparalleled environmental properties.
Of course, all of this is still highly speculative, and the incredible claims require incredible evidence.
Fool me once . . . . . . But the small company, hidden in the suburbs of Austin, Texas, has been holding on for 12 years, and it's not a fly. by-Action at night.
Although we all hope it will not fail, it may fail in the end. But as my high-
The school's PE teacher once said to the scribbled child, "Hey, at least you worked hard.
Taylor Hamilton, author of Crazy like Tesla, writes every week about green energy and clean technology.