Electric cars disappointed in 2008 — and 2009 won’t be different
The Detroit Auto Show is underway, and the world’s most famous vehicle brands are touting the next generation of cars. And although yesterday’s fervent promises of hydrogen-powered vehicles have mostly fallen away, they’ve been replaced with new promises, this time centered around the idea of the electric car.
Don’t believe the hype. Although electric vehicles are almost certainly the way forward, much of the motion is really a show intended to sway the opinion of consumers… Continue Reading
Roundup: Cisco’s digital stereo, Twitter gets authority search, and more
Here’s the latest action:
Cisco offers digital stereo — The shift to digital entertainment is a big change from the company’s roots in routers and Internet pipes.
The Internet does another round of arguing about Twitter — Loic Le Meur, founder of video site Seesmic, sparked a discussion about the micro-blogging site Twitter by suggesting that the service should allow users to search by something he calls “authority.” Frankly, I got bored with the debate pretty quickly, but hey… Continue Reading
EEStor inks partnership: Hypercapacitors real after all?
updated
Ask proponents of EEStor about the energy storage product the company is building, and they’ll tell you it’s superior to batteries in almost every way: Able to store far more power, infinitely rechargeable, (mostly) safe, and even cost-competitive.
Just don’t ask anyone if they’ve seen a working prototype of the so-called “hypercapacitors.” The capacitor-based energy product from EEStor was scheduled to start shipping last year to Zenn, an electric car company, but quietly missed the deadline…. Continue Reading
Green roundup: Solar flights, clean water, green search engine, fusion & more
Here’s a list of the latest developments/investment in clean-technology:
Solar powered aircraft flies through two nights — A solar-powered plane beats the record for the longest uncrewed flight, UK defence research company QinetiQ claims. In a secretive weekend mission, their craft Zephyr took off from a US military base in New Mexico and landed 54 hours later.
Endicott, a biodiesel company, raises $40M — The Houston, Texas, company is making a biodiesel plant, fueled from organic sources such as… Continue Reading
A123Systems raises $40M more for car battery, in showdown with EEStor
A123Systems, the Watertown, Mass. company selling high-power lithium-ion batteries, said it has raised $40 million more in a fourth round of funding, bringing the total invested in the company to $102 million.
The funding comes amid increased interest by auto-makers and the public in electric cars, as the nation tries to remove itself from dependency on gasoline. The company has competitors, such as Valence, Saft and Lion Cells, a more secretive company backed by Battery Ventures… Continue Reading
EEStor to “blow away” lithium-ion battery technology, to launch
EEStor, the obsessively secret company backed by venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, will unveil its new battery technology this year — promising to make electric vehicles much more compelling.
Technology Review has the scoop:
The company boldly claims that its system, a kind of battery-ultracapacitor hybrid based on barium-titanate powders, will dramatically outperform the best lithium-ion batteries on the market in terms of energy density, price, charge time, and safety. Pound for pound, it will also pack… Continue Reading