Electric Car without Batteries?
As a green conservative, I look toward market based solutions to achieve goals such as energy independence and reduction of CO2 emissions. Standing between widespread adoption of electric cars, which already have the range and power for daily commuters, is the high cost of battery packs and a perceived inconvenience factor. A new patent filing may change all that:
An Austin-based startup called EEStor promised “technologies for replacement of electrochemical batteries,” meaning a motorist could plug in a car for five minutes and drive 500 miles roundtrip between Dallas and Houston without gasoline.
By contrast, some plug-in hybrids on the horizon would require motorists to charge their cars in a wall outlet overnight and promise only 50 miles of gasoline-free commute. And the popular hybrids on the road today still depend heavily on fossil fuels.
“It’s a paradigm shift,” said Ian Clifford, chief executive of Toronto-based ZENN Motor Co., which has licensed EEStor’s invention. “The Achilles’ heel to the electric car industry has been energy storage. By all rights, this would make internal combustion engines unnecessary.”
From Yahoo News
ZENN is already selling small, urban commuter vehicles or “neighborhood electric cars”. They still force consumers to adopt unacceptable compromises for daily commutes, as the top speed is 25 mph and range is 35 miles. But, unlike the golf cart style other neighborhood electric car manufacturers have adopted, Zenn has a great looking little … golfcart. Oh well.
While they haven’t indicated any plans to introduce a larger, faster and longer range vehicle, their investment in the EEStor technology leads me to believe that they may have something in the works. Driving down the cost of a practical electric car from the $80 – $90,000 range into the “payback” range of $30,000 may be possible with the new technology. Keep your eye on this one.
