But some people holding patent # 7,033,406 feel it could be the "next best thing" since sliced white bread, automotively-speaking, that is. An Austin, Texas-based startup company called EEStor are promising technologies for the "replacement of electrochemical batteries".
How's about THEM apples?
This would allow motorists to "plug in" for about 5 minutes, and then drive 500 MILES on that charge, withOUT gasoline! By comparison, today's hybrids force motorists to plug in overnight to get a mere 50 miles before another charge. And that has been the "Achilles Heel" of electric tech for all this time; energy storage. The technology could also invigorate the renewable energy sectors by providing efficient, lightning-fast storage for solar power, or even a flash-charge for cell phones and laptops.
You have to admit...this IS intriguing.
The "secret ingredient" for EEStor's project is a material sandwiched between thousands of wafer-thin metal sheets, like a series of gum wrappers stacked one on top of the other. Charged particles stick to the metal sheets and move quickly across EEstor's proprietary material. And the result, kids, is an...(drum roll, please).....ULTRACAPACITOR. This battery-like device stores and releases energy quickly. No chemical reaction necessary, folks! Simple capacitors can be found almost EVERYWHERE, from computers to TV sets.
Anyone that has accidentally touched a FLY-BACK in the rear of a CRT or picture tubed TV set will tell you that it holds one HELLUVA charge (we call it B+ voltage - about 50K volts). Techs were always cautioned to "discharge" the flyback BEFORE working on any set.
I learned the hard way (called getting zapped)...LOL!
It's about as close to getting "stunned" as you will ever get. Modern LCD and plasma sets apparently no longer have this, but it IS a capacitor that allows ANY TV (or other device) the ability to come "instantly on" when needed.
With these "ultracapacitors", you get the best of both worlds; long-term energy storage, like a chemical battery, along with instant discharge capabilities, like simple capacitors.
My only concern would be how they "hold up" in a collision. I mean I sure as hell don't want thousands of volts coursing through me when I get rear-ended at a stoplight by some moron talking on their cell...how about you? Still...if this manages to get off the ground, we will REALLY be onto something wonderful for everyone concerned.
Then again, it could wind up sitting on some auto company's shelf, or in some warehouse like the Ark of the Covenant, or maybe it could wind up at Area 51.
On the "up" side, if we can get the guys at EEStor to team up with the Prof at Purdue working on that "water-engine"...now THAT would turn a few heads...don'cha think? Imagine a hybrid with the EEStor ultracapacitor AND a water-fueled engine backing it up...or even trickle charging the capacitor...what a combo! And the best part...absolutely NO Plutonium required...sorry, Doc Brown.
I wonder what would happen at 88 MPH though, if we stuck that engine/cap combo in a DELOREAN?
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