[drew]

Yeah, my facial reaction was one of sadness.....

however.... they did get one of their secret patents granted the other day!

I just hope all the wrangling that's been going on with the USPTO gets sorted before Zenn goes broke.

Some of the wars they've been having are going on 3 years now.

I don't think EEStor will show the world anything till they have enough patents granted.

Drew

[mos6507]

I don't think EEStor will show the world anything till they have enough patents granted.

I did a quick google search and Paul Moller of Moller Skycar fame has patents. So scammers can certainly get patents. I'm not overly impressed by patents.

[TheAntiDoomer]

Bloom Box’s radical claims and secrecy on par with Eestor

http://taintedgreen.com/green-business/ ... tor/000554

Sweeping energy promises from an ultra-secretive company sound familiar? It would if you’ve followed Eestor’s claims that it can produce the world’s next generation ultracapacitor batteries. The Bloom Box from Bloom Energy seems to be following in those footsteps with its recent coverage on 60 Minutes, and it places just enough facts in the public sphere to leave us salivating but skeptical.

An example? eBay CEO John Donahoe walking around on his campus claiming that 5 Bloom Boxes have saved his company over $100,000 in 9 months (video below). What he doesn’t mention though is how much of an investment those Bloom Boxes required, which according to data from the company would be conservatively $700,000 a piece or $3.5 million.

[Daniel_Plainview]

ZENN Motors and Mystery of EEStor Ultracapacitor Gets Deeper

Written by Nick Chambers
22 Mar 2010

The whole EEStor/ZENN saga is getting so ridiculous that I often find myself debating whether or not I should even cover it anymore. The (so far) mythical EESU energy storage unit that’s supposed to revolutionize personal mobility by providing instantaneous charge times in a lightweight “battery” that can take a car 700 miles on a charge has yet to see the light of day.

EEStor missed its deadline of introducing a working EESU to the world by the end of last year. When that happened I couldn’t even bring myself to write about it. It just seemed, well, pathetic.

Now ZENN Motors, the company with a huge stake in EEStor, has said they have “successfully” ceased actually building cars and laid off 15 people so that they can stop bleeding cash. All of their eggs are now in the EEStor basket.

... Yes, this article is continued ...

Strapped for cash, ZENN shuts down car factory

Poor Ian Clifford. Five years ago he started building the ZENN (Zero Emission, No Noise) vehicle that was based on conventional lead-acid batteries. (See ZENN: A Low Speed Vehicle) But low speed vehicles that couldn't go on the highway never took off; one analyst is quoted by Tyler Hamilton as calling them "Lipstick on a golf cart".

But Clifford hitched his star to eeStor, the ultrasecretive ultracapacitor company. And he waits. And waits. And waits. ... poor Ian will wait, like the rest of us, to see if EEStor ever works.

[JJ]

My Republic of Texas neighbor has been working on the electric car in Cedar Park Texas for the last few years. Each year he and his friends have driven their prototype car in our Bluebonnet festival parade (which is today). Today there were no electric cars or motorcycles being driven by them (although there was one electric car).

[EnergyUnlimited]

Bloom Box’s radical claims and secrecy on par with Eestor...

I think, at this point you should conceed that EEStor is a scam.

For me it was looking like a scam for last 2 years but now it is in domain of obvious.

[Daniel_Plainview]

Bloom Box’s radical claims and secrecy on par with Eestor...

I think, at this point you should conceed that EEStor is a scam.

For me it was looking like a scam for last 2 years but now it is in domain of obvious.

More waiting ... more delays ... more bad news ...

Zenn stock sags on worries over EEStor project

Tue Aug 24, 2010 7:44pm GMT
By Nicole Mordant

VANCOUVER, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Shares of Zenn Motor Co Inc (ZNN.V: Quote) fell 14 percent on Tuesday on investor concerns the maker of drivetrain components for electric vehicles was distancing itself from its much-hyped battery supplier, EEStor Inc, despite denials from Zenn.

Pouncing on statements in Zenn's quarterly results statement on Monday, blogs and websites were full of chatter the firm was looking for partners outside of EEStor, a privately owned company that is developing what is promised to be breakthrough battery technology.

Until now Zenn, a tiny Toronto-based developer of zero-emission vehicles, has tied its future almost exclusively to low-profile, Texas-based EEStor.

The long-awaited battery, or electrical energy storage unit as it is known, could revolutionize the electric car industry if it lives up to predictions of being able to power a vehicle up to 400 km (250 miles) on a single charge and recharge in minutes rather than hours.

"In my opinion people are reading too much into the (Zenn) press release because there isn't very much to read," Paradigm Capital analyst Marvin Wolff said.

In a statement accompanying its quarterly results, Zenn said on Monday that it is "actively engaged" in trying to forge relationships or invest in, "third-party companies that can provide complementary technologies".

... Zenn was a darling of the stock market a couple of years ago when its stock soared close to C$7 on high hopes for the EEStor unit.

But the continued wait for delivery of a production-quality battery, and silence from EEStor, has seen Zenn's shares slide.

By mid-afternoon on Tuesday the stock was down 30 Canadian cents or 14 percent at C$1.80.

...Investors had anticipated delivery of a battery by the end of 2009, but EEStor is not obliged by contract to meet a deadline. ...



Continued...

[BigTex]

Let's see, I started this thread a little over four years ago.

Waiting on EEStor is probably a bit like sitting in a unicorn blind out in the woods.

You start asking yourself how long you should sit there after a certain point.

[efarmer]

Know what you mean BigTex on that unicorn blind sitting ritual ...

I have a workaround where I put a sugar cone on the dog's head so I can say I might have seen a unicorn and the dog gets to knock the sugar cone off and eat it. You can do this right in the kitchen in your robe and slippers too.

[Daniel_Plainview]

It appears that EESTOR's biggest supporter, ZENN, is burning through its working capital at the alarming rate of 53% annually, waiting for EESTOR's magic money machine to materialize:

At September 30, 2010 the Company had working capital of $4,580,376 including cash, cash equivalents and short- term investments totaling $5,074,652, compared to working capital of $9,655,369 and cash of $10,143,540, respectively, at September 30, 2009.

Waiting ... waiting ... waiting ...

link

[Daniel_Plainview]

It appears that EESTOR's biggest supporter, ZENN, is burning through its working capital at the alarming rate of 53% annually, waiting for EESTOR's magic money machine to materialize:

Zenn Motor CEO Ian Clifford steps down

(Reuters) - Zenn founder/ CEO Ian Clifford is stepping down and will assume the role of vice-chairman effective immediately. Clifford was stepping down "in the context of our focus to preserve cash." Zenn owns 10.7 percent of Texas-based EEStor, which is developing battery technology to be used in electric cars.

Reuters

[dbruning]

I think the question at this point isn't whether ESStor is likely to be a scam or not (personally I think it is)...
...the question is, is the science behind the premise solid, and if so, who is going to actually develop a working solution?

Surely if the science is sound, some of the bigger players would have come out with their version of it?

[mos6507]

...the question is, is the science behind the premise solid, and if so, who is going to actually develop a working solution?

It's an unanswerable question. All we can do is sit around and wait while Rome burns.

I used to follow every tic in the news of next-gen tech. Now I don't really give a sh*t, because it's not like I can make any of this happen any faster. When it arrives, if it arrives, then I'll care. But staying on the edge of my seat waiting for a miracle is not my idea of time well spent.

[dbruning]

True enough. I just think that usually the biggest advantage to new technology goes to the people who roll it out first....and that if they could they would have by now.

Maybe the miliatry/gov is making them keep it quiet....but for all practical purposes that is as good as if it didn't exist to us regular people.

So until I see differently, ie: can go buy the product and try it out, rather than see another press release, I'll assume this is hot air and a waste of time.

Which saddens me, there were a few things I had hopes for, one other being ITER...which is moving slower than frozen molasses...

*edit: The Tokamak building will be the core of ITER, where fusion experiments will begin in 2019.....way too late in my opinion.

Wish the positive thinkers would produce their miracle solution soon.

[Daniel_Plainview]

I used to follow every tic in the news of next-gen tech. Now I don't really give a sh*t, because it's not like I can make any of this happen any faster. When it arrives, if it arrives, then I'll care. But staying on the edge of my seat waiting for a miracle is not my idea of time well spent.

Ordinarily I'd agree with you. But EESTOR promised a public prototype by 31 Dec 2009 ... then, when that didn't materialize, EESTOR promised a public prototype by 31 Dec 2010 ... then, when that didn't materialize, EESTOR's biggest investor, ZENN, began to meltdown financially, and its CEO resigned.

These ultra-secretive start-ups that promise the moon are invariably failures. And many of them are frauds. This should be a lesson to potential investors.

[mos6507]

These ultra-secretive start-ups that promise the moon are invariably failures. And many of them are frauds. This should be a lesson to potential investors.

Don't interpret what I said as meaning I believe in EESTOR. I am very skeptical of them, and didn't waste my money investing in ZENN stock like so many others.

And the EESTOR blog is a real joke. It's tantamount to trying to divine the second coming of christ by reading tea leaves. But it's gotten to the point where the guy who runs that blog can't even write tinfoil speculation anymore, and just writes The Onion style satirical pseudo-news humor:

"What I learned may surprise you: while most business relationships are predicated on a quid pro quo basis, the Lockheed-EEStor hookup is based purely on love. "

So I don't even bother reading it anymore. I don't think he really "believes" anymore. It's just become self-parody for him and everybody else.

I'll be the first to apologize for doubting them IF they deliver. Until then, I'm treating them like they don't exist.

[BigTex]

Waiting on EEStor is probably a bit like sitting in a unicorn blind out in the woods.

After a certain point, you start asking yourself how long you should sit there.

Sorry, I think I dozed off for a while.

Did I miss anything?

[Daniel_Plainview]

Zenn's CEO and chairman both quit amid urgent cost-cutting

VANCOUVER - Zenn Motor Co Inc said today its chairman and recently appointed chief executive will quit as the once-promising electric car developer pares back operations to cut costs. Richard McGraw left after the board of directors finished a strategic review of the loss-making Toronto-based company. Zenn said it would name a new CEO “in the near future” to replace Brian Cott, who was only appointed to the position in February, when he took over from Zenn founder Ian Clifford.

... Zenn’s fortunes are almost exclusively tied to EEStor. ... Zenn’s shares were down 7.5 percent, at C$1.48 on the TSX Venture Exchange late on Monday morning, a far cry from the C$6 they traded at 18 months ago.

VancouverSun

[Daniel_Plainview]

Zenn Motor Company says second quarter losses grow to $1.5 million

TORONTO — Zenn Motor Co. posted a deeper second-quarter loss as the high-tech battery developer moves forward with plans to restructure its operations. The Toronto-based company says its quarterly losses grew to $1.5 million, or four cents per share, from $1.05 million or six cents per share a year ago.

The results come as Zenn goes ahead with steps to simplify its organization, a move which earlier this month included both founder and chairman Richard McGraw and president and CEO Birna Cott stepping down from their roles.

Changes at Zenn include refocusing the company on its investment in EEStor Inc., an ultracapacitor energy storage company, and has also been moving ahead with costs cuts and simplifications of its organization.

Zenn also plans to gradually reduce the roles of its chief financial officer, vice-president of business development and vice-president of engineering over the next six months, with each of them leaving Zenn at the end of that period.

The company exited the electric car manufacturing business about a year ago. As of March 31, the end of the second quarter, the company had $3 million of cash on hand, compared to $5.1 million as of Sept. 30, 2010.

linky winky

Hmm, looks like Zenn is running out of cash, and has to lay off all of its managerial staff in an effort to "simplify its organization" through "costs cuts" and streamlining of its corporate structure ...