A replacement for electric cars' lithium-ion batteries?Just about anyone who has ever considered buying an electric vehicle (EV) and then decided against it cites one fact — and one fact alone — that caused them to rethink the idea. Range. The inability to drive long distances without enduring a five- or six-hour "refuel" has kept many of us out of the EV market. EEStor, a privately held Cedar Park, Texas, company dedicated to the design and manufacturing of high-density storage devices, has taken a major step forward in eradicating this problem.

Those long charging times result from the fact that most EV power systems rely on lithium-ion batteries, which take time to charge. Quick-charging the packs is possible, but this will result in shorter battery life. Neither way works well for the consumer. So the folks at EEStor decided to turn away from traditional battery systems and look toward capacitors, power storage devices that rely on two charged terminals separated by a non-conductive material called a dialectric.

There has been speculation all over the Web these past few months that EEStor had finally "cracked the code" and created an ultra-capacitor that is better than a lithium-ion battery cell in almost every way. It seems that the company has finally done so: On January 17 EEStor announced third-party verification of the dialectric powders needed to make these capacitors.

"This is a very meaningful milestone in terms of production of an ultra-capacitor for use in electric vehicles," noted Ian Clifford, CEO and founder of Zenn Motor Company. Zenn is an electric vehicle producer that holds exclusive rights to use this new technology in vehicles up to 2,645 pounds curb weight, roughly the same as a Honda Accord or Toyota Prius. "It will allow for the commercialization of high-range, high-speed vehicles for mass production," he said, finally making these cars a reality for the general public.