Will Ultracapacitors solve it all?

I have been following the company EEStor for some time now.  Their claims are huge and I think they could make an unbelievable difference in the world of EVs.  Is it all hype?  EEStor has been extremely quiet about their progress.  In one of the very few interviews with the CEO, he had this to say:

The company expects its ceramic ultracapacitor, which it said uses no hazardous materials, to have a charging time of 3 to 6 minutes, with a discharge rate of only 0.02 percent over 30 days. EEStor said that compares to more than 3 hours to charge a lithium-ion battery and a discharge rate of 1 percent over 30 days.

"It's all certified," said Weir [CEO]. "No bullshit in this."

But last week they were listed one among three companies who are believed to be bringing this technology to the real world for public use.  Apowercap Technologies and Maxwell Technologies were listed as the competition.  Maxwell and EEStor are considered the closest, both with contracts in place.  The article comparing these three companies looks towards the use of these units in electric cars.  But I still get that gut feeling of "too good to be true..."  Obviously price will be one of the major factors of whether or not these units will be practical, but that is almost certain to be corrected over time, especially if the technology is as great as it sounds. 

I feel like that woman on the Orbitz commercial who is afraid to click "buy" on her trip in fear that the price will drop after she does.  I want an EV, I want to give up oil completely, but spending the money today means that in a year or so, that money might be able to buy better and cleaner technology.  It makes me wonder where one draws the line.  I for one, think that waiting for an affordable non-toxic battery technology is a good idea.  I know there is Lithium, but a scientist once told me that there are only 2 sources for Lithium in the world.  That is a little disturbing if it is accurate.  I'm interested to know the processes that create Lithium Ion batteries.  I assume the Lithium is mined, I wonder how they get it, or if it is a very destructive process.  This might make the arguement for Ultracapacitors stronger, especially if mining and refining is cut out of the process...

It's really hard to say right now.  If EEStor comes through on its promises, then I think ulatracapacitor batteries will start to take over the EV market.  There are a lot of people dubious that EEStor will succeed though.

At this point it's basically wait-and-see.  EEStor is supposed to deliver a working battery to ZENN at the end of the year, so at that point we'll know for sure either way.

As for lithium, studies have shown that there's plenty of the metail to make more than enough batteries to supply all the vehicles on the planet.  I'm not aware of any particularly environmentally damaging aspects related to its mining.

I did a little more research...

So they pass electric current through materials in order to separate out the Lithium, be interested in knowing just how much electricity and whether or not it is done in an area that is predominantly coal powered.  (I also read that China may become one of the leading producers, in which case the use of electricity would be a very negative effect with all the coal power used...)

The other major producer seems to be Chile and a few other S American countries.  One forum suggested that the process uses more than two thirds of the drinking water from that area. 

I really don't want to be one of those people who rejects a technology because it has a few flaws.  I can't stand it when people are so close minded about progress.  Small steps in the right direction are definitely much better than being stagnant!  I just can't help my curiosity though. :)  I also hate to see the same mistake repeat again, when the populous decides to stick with a technology just because its convenient and refuse to question whether or not it is the most appropriate.  I'm all about Lithium right now, but I see it as a temporary bridge to technology like these non-toxic ultra-capacitors, if they ever come into being.  I'll just keep my fingers crossed and see whether they make it.

Latest update on EEStor:  delay again.  Apparently, they didn't receive proper funding so they will be unable to meet their end of the year deadline.  They have not given a new date for production, but they are assuring GM-volt that they have made significant progress.  (Making GM even more reluctant to team up with them for the volt.)  But apparently they signed a new contract last month with Light Electric Vehicles last month, possibly to receive the needed funding.  It looks to me like EEStor is getting hit pretty hard with criticisms regarding their delays, which makes it quite obvious why they have chosen to be secretive about almost everything.  If they are hiding something, at least Maxwell and Apowercap are still carrying the torch.

I think ultracaps are extremely exciting--but I don't think they're necessary to "solve it all." I think lithium ion batteries are already good enough and could be cheap enough to meet our needs.

Just look at what Project Better Place is doing. They're providing customers with a vehicle and service which are just as good as, or really better than what they already have.

That said, ultracapacitors are still really, really cool and useful. :-D

This was an interested article that went through an annotated history of battery technology.  The most interesting however was this last paragraph:

Altair Nanotechnologies (NASDAQ: ALTI) has developed a lithium battery technology called Nanosafe™. Altair is supplying batteries to carmaker Phoenix Motorcars. The outstanding thing about the Altair batteries is how quickly they can be charged. The cars produced by Phoenix can go 130 to 250 miles on a charge, but can be recharged in as little as 10 minutes. This is likely to be a game changer for electric cars in general, and set a new standard that all electric automakers must strive toward. Full Article

Here is some more information regarding the possible dangers with using Li-Ion batteries for EVs and other mainstream electronics.  I think it is a lot of good information and it is a very objective article, showing both sides of the arguement.

The headlong rush to create electric cars for green-minded consumers may come with a significant economic and environmental cost...continued