EEStor About to Release Public Data on its Energy Storage Units (EESUs)

EEStor is the Texas company that has been secretly working on a breakthrough energy storage technology that is a type of ultracapacitor. The technology is reportedly able to store large quantities of energy in a package markedly smaller, lighter, and less expensive than lithium-ion batteries.
The company has formed an exclusive agreement with ZENN Motor [...]

Popularity: 43%

EXCLUSIVE: CEO of ZENN Motor Company on EEStor, EEStor Storage Units, cityZENN, and ZENNergy Drive Systems

ZENN Motor Company is a small Toronto based company currently building low speed lead-acid neighborhood electric vehicles. They have partnered with the secretive Texas company EEStor that supposedly has developed a breakthrough energy storage device. I had the chance for an interview with the CEO of ZENN, Ian Clifford, which follows.
What is [...]

Popularity: 83%

GM’s Next Generation Chevy Volts May Use Supercapacitors

The first generation Chevy Volt, known as an E-REV (extended range electric vehicle), is still two and a half year away, but GM continues very active R&D looking into the next generation.
We have at times discussed the ideas of supercapitors. These are like batteries in that they store energy, only they are generally [...]

Popularity: 46%

Chevy Volt Generation Two

No sooner than we hear the first Chevy Volt lithium-ion battery powered prototypes are tooling around the track, than a GM VP is giving an interview about the next generation Volt.
Fact is the Volt is here to stay (and GM-Volt.com along with it). Indeed we have heard GM North America president Troy Clarke call the [...]

Popularity: 41%

Poll: World is Running out of Oil

70% of respondents of a new international poll believed that world oil production has already peaked, and only 22% believe enough new oil will be found to allow it to remain a primary fuel source.
Steven Kull director of the poll’s publisher WorldPublicOpinion.org said "What’s most striking is there’s such a widespread consensus around the [...]

Popularity: 31%

Toyota Attacks the Volt…Again

The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) are having a conference in Detroit this week. One paper that was presented was written by Toyota and called ‘Study on the Potential Benefits of a Hybrid System”.
The results were summarized by our friend Mike Milikin of Greencarcongress.
In the study Toyota compared the E-REV concept to the PHEV Prius [...]

Popularity: 38%

An Analysis of the Toyota PHEV versus the Chevy Volt

For a while, GM and Toyota have publicly argued that each PHEV architecture is superior over the other, comparing the Volt (an E-REV) to the prototype Toyota PHEV,  basically a Prius with a 10 mile range battery in the trunk.
Ron Grebman of CalCars wrote a terrific analysis whether GM or Toyota is correct in asserting [...]

Popularity: 25%

Will Mass Use of Plug-in Cars Increase Air Pollution?

We have reviewed and discussed the EPRI study which suggested mass-adoption of electric cars can be handled by the power grid, will result in net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and dramatically reduce U.S. petroleum consumption.
A more recent study by GM suggests E-REV use will reduce tailpipe emissions by 80%.
In the USA Today, two studies [...]

Popularity: 24%

Does GM Need Toyota to Make the Volt More Affordable??

Motor Trend published a report summarizing some of the presentations at the Society of Automotive Engineers Hybrid Symposium in San Diego last week.
One of these was by a Dr. Menahem Anderman of Advanced Automotive Batteries, which gave a “cold-eyed view” on PHEVs. His report concluded that GM won’t be able to make the Volt [...]

Popularity: 30%

Driving the Volt

Peter Savagian is an engineer at GM who worked on the EV-1. He recently presented data from his study on the effect of driving electrified vehicles.
The presentation examines and discusses the implication of plug-in hybrid and E-REV utilization.
Per Peter, “GM’s Advanced Propulsion Technology Strategy is to remove automobiles from the environmental dialogue.”, and “another [...]

Popularity: 30%

Lockheed Martin Signs Agreement with EEStor

Mostly, we talk about the Volt here, but relevant and related topics are often worth discussing.
We have previously discussed a secretive Texas company called EEStor, who are reported to be working on a new type of ultracapacitor that can hold 10x the energy in 1/10th the weight of typical batteries, at a fraction of the [...]

Popularity: 70%

GM-Volt.com: Interview with Dr. Cui, Inventor of Silicon Nanowire Lithium-ion Battery Breakthrough

Dr. Yi Cui
Many of you have heard about the new breakthrough in lithium-ion battery storage. I had an interview with the scientist who discovered it, and hopes to bring it to market, Dr. Yi Cui, Assistant Professor of Material Science and Engineering at Stanford University.

Can you tell us what you have discovered?
The idea is to [...]

Popularity: 65%