EEStor's Ultracapacitor Delivered in 2009?

Rumors and speculation have reached a fever pitch in discussion groups that follow the work of a secretive Texas company called EEStor. What's all the fuss about?

It's been a while since we last checked-in on EEStor, which appears to be ready to deliver an "ultracapacitor." This device would, according to its proponents, be capable of powering the all-electric motor in a standard-sized car for hundreds of miles on a single charge. It also would charge in minutes, rather than hours, and be made of nontoxic materials.

Of course, there is great controversy over these claims. Many electrical engineers say it's not possible to make an ultracapacitor. But EEStor's founders are legitimate business people with long histories in complex manufacturing processes and are backed by Kleiner Perkins and Lockheed Martin, which are not known to be frivolous with their investments. Canada-based Zenn Motors, which has a license to sell ultracaps in the U.S. four-wheel auto market, has been spewing all the information about EEStor that it can without violating its nondisclosure agreement.

And now, the supposedly leaked transcript of a phone interview with Dick Weir, one of EEStor's co-founders, has appeared on the Web at various sites, which shall go nameless here, as the call appears to have been obtained with subterfuge.

In short, the latest news from numerous patent applications and the transcript is that EEStor is in the last phases of building an automated production line, is ready to deliver ultracaps to Zenn for its electric car drivetrain before the end of 2009 and is in talks with Michigan state officials to build another manufacturing plant there.

If EEStor delivered a production-model ultracap, or, for that matter, even a working prototype, the results would be staggering. Along with making all-electric cars a reality would come a complete revision of the cost problems of wind and solar energy. Then there's the geopolitical repercussions to that whole pesky oil-exporting industry we've been supporting for decades.

Cross your fingers. An ultracap would make the world a much better place.

Photo courtesy of ed kohler, via Flickr