Sounds Like EEStor Has Delayed Again

http://greenlight.greentechmedia.com/2008/10/28/sounds-like-eestor-has-delayed-again-696/
October 28, 2008 at 9:06 PM
Although ultracapacitor manufacturer EEStor is highly secretive and few people outside the company can fully explain what it is up to, there are two things you can almost always count on the company to do.

One, to delay its product.

Two, to be highly entertaining.

This week, Richard Weir climbed out of his hidey hole to respond to a comment on the GM-Volt blog about the company’s status. Weir reiterated that the company had said earlier this year that it would come out with products by the end of the year, EEStor did not get the funding it was seeking. Therefore, it seems that the ultracapacitors will be delayed once again. Initially, they were due back in 2007.

According to the GM-Volt blog, Weir wrote:


As we have provided certified information on EEStor, Inc. this information certain indicates the excellent progress that we are making.

+As we stated in the beginning of 2008, properly funded EEStor, Inc. would anticipate in being in production status late in 2008.

The funding that we did receive was not sufficient to meet the production status late in 2008 but as identified by our last news release, EEStor, Inc. has made excellent progress with that level of funding.


That sounds like 2009 to me. Vague, yes, but simple math seems to indicate next year at best. In turn, that means those prototypes from Lockheed and the car from Zenn due this year will be delayed as well.

For those of you unfamiliar with EEStor, the company is extremely reclusive. It issues few press releases; although, Weir occasionally gives brief interviews. Kleiner, Perkins is an investor, but neither the firm nor the company acknowledge it. Former Dell chairman and high-tech guru Mort Topfer was on the board, jumped off and returned. People I’ve talked to who have seen EEStor’s labs (or have spoken to people who have seen the labs) say they are wonderful and state-of-the-art. However, they also tended to strongly doubt the company’s claims that its parts could power an electric car for hundreds of miles and recharge in a jiffy.


EEStore does have supporters. And other companies, albeit less secretive and cryptic ones, are working on ultracapacitors to help charge battery-powered cars. So you never know.

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