Energy From Thorium Discussion Forum

This secretive company has been hyped for years..
They are proposing capacitors for electrical energy storage, and are supposedly using "nano technology" for it. They finally announced products in this january, and projects are underway to integrate them into electric cars.

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007/01 ... .html#more
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/01/18 ... nn-motors/

I don't know much about batteries. 340 Wh/kg is claimed.

The energy storage technology is what will make or break the electric vehicle, and the more efficient and straightforward electron economy instead of the hydrogen economy.

If these capacitors can take "dirty" electricity, ie that they don't need long constant charging times, but can be charged on-off, they have a big potential in load balancing, which is good for many energy solutions.

The dielectric material is the ferrolectric perovskite of barium titanate, except sintered so it's poreless and thin.

In high voltage capacitors, the normal breakdown method is through a pore in the dielectric. The company plans to run the capacitor up to 4000V to achieve high specific powers.

The company, investors and principals are said to have seen demonstrations of a prototype device constructed using "laboratory methods."

The company was able to make pure barium titanate powders on schedule. Recently, a director of the company quit. The company is now 8 months late in delivering a production vehicle battery.

Ferroelectric perovskites have high permittivities because trapped ions in the crystal structure move in response to the electric field.

One problematic theoretical issue is that a perovskites' permittivity should be limited by the number of ions that can move in the lattice, which is limited by the mass of the material. If this is right, then the device's permittivity may saturate at intermediate voltages, giving the device dramatically poorer energy storage performance than planned.

Another issue is whether conventional power connections can charge a car effectively-- but this can be finessed. One answer is to slowly charge a static capacitor, and then use the static capacitor to quickly charge a mobile capacitor. Another is to just accept slow charge rates.

At the moment EEStor has zero credibility. Their method of operation, their failure to attract major customers, and their failure to produce a product within the projected time frame, all tend to diminish confidence in their ability to accomplish stated goals.

Yes, I'm kinda disillusioned with them.
EDIT:
This just in, they're partnered with Lockheed Martin
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/news/pres ... ement.html

Chemical batteries are what we are left with for the best efficient energy per mass storage.

Anyway, it seems good capacitors could complement batteries in high intermittent power applications, reducing the demands from the batteries.
In an automotive example, there could be a supercapacitor near the motors, that would be constantly charged by the batteries. In high accelerations like overtaking the capacitor would produce most of the power. Also braking energy could readily be absorbed by the capacitor. For the batteries, this would mean less max power, which would mean longer life, lighter power conditioning, thinner wires and all kinds of other benefits.

Well just as I had written EEStor off along comes a press release from Lockheed Martin. I am still not a believer however, first we need to see something come out the door. We have heard nothing about the Capacitors that EEStor was suppose to provide Zenn Motors in November. There is still the strange matter of Ian Topfer relationship with EEStor. Since Craig Vanbebber, who was behind the Lockheed Martin press release has a Dallas number, I might just call him to enquire just exactly what is going on.

Lockheed Martin Signs Agreement with EESTOR, Inc., for Energy Storage Solutions
Published 01/09/2008 - 4:35 p.m.
(PressMediaWire) DALLAS, TX, January 9th, 2008 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has signed an exclusive international rights agreement to integrate and market Electrical Energy Storage Units (EESU) from EEStor, Inc., for military and homeland security applications. Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

EEStor, based in Cedar Park, TX, is developing a ceramic battery chemistry that could provide 10 times the energy density of lead acid batteries at 1/10th the weight and volume. As envisioned, EESUs will be a fully “green” technology that will be half the price per stored watt-hour than traditional battery technologies.

“Lockheed Martin has a wide range of innovative energy solutions for federal, state and regional energy applications,” said Glenn Miller, vice president of Technical Operations and Applied Research at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “The EEStor energy storage technology provides potential solutions for the demanding requirements for energy in military and homeland defense applications.”

EESUs are planned as nontoxic, non-hazardous and non-explosive. Since the EESU design is based on ultra-capacitor architecture, it will allow for flexible packaging and rapid charge/discharge capabilities. EESUs will be ideally suited for a wide range of power management initiatives that could lead to energy independence for the Warfighter.

“Lockheed Martin continues to focus on providing our Warfighters with new and innovative technologies that will make their jobs easier,” said Lionel Liebman, manager of Program Development – Applied Research at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “Our ruggedized BattPack™ energy storage unit generated considerable interest at the Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting in October 2007 for its potential for fuel savings in vehicular silent watch applications. The potential of an even safer, smaller and more powerful EESU in BattPack™ would significantly enhance the Warfighter’s capabilities.”

EESU qualification testing and mass production at EEStor’s facility in Cedar Park is planned for late 2008.

EEStor, Inc., of Cedar Park, TX, originally developed its solid-state EESU technology as a longer lasting, lighter, more powerful environmentally friendly electronic storage unit for a wide variety of applications. EEStor’s vision also includes EESU facilitating the conversion of wind energy and photovoltaics into primary electrical energy providers and increasing the role of renewables for increasing energy production. Its CEO and president, Richard Weir, is also the inventor named on its EESU principal technology patent.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.

Craig Vanbebber, 972-603-1615

Another possible energy storage technology uses flywheels. See https://www.llnl.gov/str/pdfs/04_96.2.pdf

The advances in making high strength fibers would likely make the best possible flywheels better than the figures given in the above article from the 1990s.