As I’ve noted previously, there is a potentially disruptive battery technology known as an ultracapcitor that is being developed by a rather secretive but apparently well financed company called EEStor in Texas.   It would store and then generate enormous quantities power compared with existing batteries, be capable of re-charging very rapidly, and hold a virtually infinite number of recharges.  If it sounds like science fiction, well … maybe it is.  There are a lot of sceptics.   On the other hand, if you’d described a digital camera to someone …

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From FuturePundit.com:

August 05, 2008

EEStor Claims Battery Energy Density Breakthrough

Venture capital start-up EEStor claims their battery outperforms lithium-based batteries.
EEStor claims that its system, called an electrical energy storage unit (EESU), will have more than three times the energy density of the top lithium-ion batteries today. The company also says that the solid-state device will be safer and longer lasting, and will have the ability to recharge in less than five minutes. Toronto-based ZENN Motor, an EEStor investor and customer, says that it’s developing an EESU-powered car …

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The economy, the stock market, and our understanding of the future direction for energy and transportation may all be on the brink of major changes .  This letter will open a discussion of these ideas. 

A Very Tough Month

Before turning to the future, I must confess that the immediate past month was  most painful for the EIS portfolio.   Oil prices hit a violent downdraft in July, which especially impacted my “options on futures” strategy.  It declined in value by about 33%.  Since the purpose of these options is to provide portfolio …

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A report in The Economist analyzes the possibility that ultracapacitors are a game changer.   Remember:  “the prize” that everyone seeks is a technology that will allow electricity to power personal transportation economically.  In other words, can we build a PHEV or EV that can be more attractive to the consumer than a Smart car?   When that happens we will begin to transition away from petroleum and toward electricity, which is our inevitable ultimate destiny. The Economist analyzes whether ultracapacitors may be the key to that prize.  The article …

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Opportunities in Energy Storage Stocks by: John Petersen posted on: September 01, 2008 | about stocks: ABAT / ALTI / AXPW.OB / BCON / CBAK / CHP / ENS / HEV / JCI / MXWL / ULBI / VLNC / XIDE / ZBB Groucho Marx once quipped: “If we had some eggs we could have eggs and ham, if we had some ham.” In 2008, Groucho would probably work in the PR department of an alternative …

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