Millions of inventions pass quietly through the U.S. patent office each year. Patent No. 7,033,406 did, too, until energy insiders spotted six words in the filing that sounded like a death knell for the internal combustion engine.
An Austin-based startup called EEStor promised "technologies for replacement of electrochemical batteries," meaning a motorist could plug in a car for five minutes and drive 500 miles roundtrip between Dallas and Houston without gasoline.
By contrast, some plug-in hybrids on the horizon would require motorists to charge their cars in a wall outlet overnight and promise only 50 miles of gasoline-free commute. And the popular hybrids on the road today still depend heavily on fossil fuels.
First, wipe the hype off your screen. Note, they haven't actually delivered a working product yet. They're supposed to be saying 'later this year.' hm. If it's true, it could be quite a little shake up. If it's not...well, no surprise. Here's the wikipedia entry on the company. It has a link to a pdf with the patent.
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