Ultracapacitors and ZENN go together a Electric Vehicles, EV and batteries do?
What does ZENN and ultracapacitors have in common? ZENN is partnered with EEStor who is developing supposedly revolutionary ultracapacitors. What are ultracapacitors? It’s the best thing since sliced bread, or lithium batteries in this case.
The gist, could nanoscale meadows help propel our EVs? That’s what NewsScientist was asking; “Nanoscale meadows of grass and flowers could hold the key to increasing the amount of energy … stored in ultracapacitors, devices tipped to replace batteries in high-demand applications like electric cars.” Tell us more…
How and what? Well, with ion sponges, obviously… Seriously though, by applying a voltage to two electrodes suspended in a solution, positive ions head to one electrode and negative ions to the other, which charges an ultracapacitor. What better way than to coat electrodes with a porous material that soaks up ions like a sponge. So how do we make them more porous?
The latest research coming from Hao Zhang of the Research Institute of Chemical Defence in Beijing, China, and the Peking University found that manganese oxide (MnO) is more promising than activated carbon.
Obviously this is the continuation of what everybody clamors for, more research, more innovations. Ultracapacitors, or supercapacitors is a very promising technology we have discussed here before. It seems like a natural for any of tomorrow’s EV. It has already been used with electric trains for decades. The future never looked so promising.
Which segways into the next story story that caught our attention.
We haven’t heard much from the Canadian pure electric vehicle, EV maker ZENN in a while, but it seems they are ready to sell their EVs in Canada.
The gist, Zenn MotorCo. said it will start selling its EVs in Canada by October at last, according to the Financial Post. In a strange twist or irony, the ZENN EVs have been selling in the U.S. but not in Canada where they were illegal on most roads, including in the company’s home province of Ontario.
So what is going on? ZENN has a retailer licence in Quebec after a 3 year pilot program, which approved low-speed vehicles, including ZENN’s EVs.