This is potentially huge.
Millions of inventions pass quietly through the U.S. patent office.
One out of Texas did too -- until energy insiders read what sounded like the end of the internal combustion engine.
An startup called EEStor promised technology that could allow a motorist to plug in a car for five minutes and drive 500 miles roundtrip without gas.
Some future plug-in hybrids would require drivers to charge their cars in a wall outlet overnight and promise only 50 miles of gasoline-free commute. And today's popular hybrids still depend on fossil fuels.
Toronto's ZENN Motor has licensed EEStor's invention. An official says it could make traditional engines unnecessary.
Skeptics fear the claims stretch the bounds of existing technology to the point of alchemy.
From the Associated Press via WTOL-TV
Texas start-up builds car battery replacement
A small Texas company has filed a patent for a new kind of battery that could supercharge the market for electric cars.
EEStor’s new US patent application refers to “technologies for replacement of electrochemical batteries” and a battery due later this year will appear in electric cars from Canadian car firm, Zenn Motor.
According to the company, a motorist will only have to plug in the car for five minutes in order to generate enough juice for a 500-mille trip, a claim that has garnered much scorn.
EEStor's secret ingredient is a chemical compound called barium titanate which is sandwiched between thousands of wafer-thin metal sheets. Charged particles stick to the metal sheets and move quickly across the proprietary material....
From ComputerActive
Texas Startup Says It Has Batteries BeatFull AP story from the Sydney Morning Herald
