Ultracapacitors To Revolutionize Electric Vehicles

Ultracapacitors To Revolutionize Electric Vehicles FARM HOME Cars 32-5-11 An electric car that goes 250 miles per charge at speeds of up to 80 mph is expected on the market in about a year. Unlike current electric cars that take hours to recharge, the new ZENN car (zero emission, no noise) will recharge in less than five minutes. It'll operate at 1/10 the cost of an internal combustion engine and produce no emissions. Key to the car's success are the new "ultra capacitors" that store the electrical power. They're made by ZENN's partner EEStor, Cedar Park, Texas. Capacitors have been around since the 1960's and are able to charge and discharge small amounts of power quickly, efficiently and repeatedly. ZENN's current electric cars are fully enclosed, three-door hatchbacks that offer air conditioning, power windows, power locks, remote keyless entry, wipers, defrost, heater, sunroof and more. However, like other electric cars, speeds are low (25 mph top speed), trips are limited to 64 miles, and it takes four hours to recharge its batteries to 80 percent capacity. The new capacitor-driven car will be the first of its kind in speed and distance. The company has kept its development largely under wraps as the ultracapacitors are refined. Images of either the car or the capacitors are unavailable. ZENN has exclusive rights to retrofit vehicles with ultracapacitors and to produce new mid-size cars (3,000 lbs. or less) using them. Ultracapacitors or super capacitors use an activated carbon core to soak up electrons. Until now, ultracapacitors have been limited to holding only 5 percent of the power of a lithium-ion battery. EEStor claims a breakthrough in technology that creates the efficiency and also lets them mass produce units at a very low cost. The company suggests storage is more than twice that of lithium-ion and ten times that of lead storage batteries. In addition to ZENN, Lockheed Martin plans to use the new capacitors in military and homeland security equipment. Tom Weir, EEStor vice president and general manager, told the Christian Science Monitor, "EEStor's technology has the opportunity to touch every aspect of daily life from very big to very small devices. We also see a whole new range of products and services based around our technology." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, ZENN Motor Company, 85 Scarsdale Road, Suite 100, Toronto, Ontario Canada M3B 2R2 (ph 416 535-8395; www.zenn cars.com).

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