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Michael Kanellos | July 28, 2009 at 11:37 AM 10 Comments

More EEStor Wackiness: CEO Dick Weir Discusses Production

A few years ago I wrote an article titled "Light Shines on World's Craziest Battery Company" that was about EEStor, the secretive ultracapacitor manufacturer in Texas. Some people claimed that the company cracked the Gordian Knot of electric cars. Others said the science didn't seem to add up. EEStor compounded the issue by rarely speaking.

I thought maybe the headline was over the top. Turns out that wasn't the case. Since then, the critics and supporters have become more entrenched in their position, while EEStor has delayed its products a few times. Its public relations strategy, however, has become a bit weirder. Instead of maintaining near total silence, CEO Dick Weir occasionally speaks (I spoke to him once for about five minutes), but not often.

Now, EEStory.com has a transcript of an alleged interview with Weir, with an unknown interviewer. Some of the highlights:

  • Weir says that Kleiner, Perkins owns 20 percent of the company. (Kleiner is an investor according to several sources, but not put the company on its portfolio list.)
  • The deal between Lockheed Martin and EEStor came after Weir pitched to the CIA. The agency thought the defense contractor might be interested.
  • The technology could be used in portable electronics. "We can take a battery for a PC in the same frame or a battery for a hand held or for a cell phone and give you 3 to 5 times more energy storage that will never degrade on you as you can charge in a second," Weir said.
  • The company has a contract with a maker off two- and three-wheeled vehicles.
  • Things are coming along. "And I think you'll see the results when we get into 2010 and you'll see a very effective and very constant ramp up of our production capabilities," he said.

Happy reading.

Comments [10]

  • Clint 07/28/09 12:29 PM

    This is old news.

    Reply
      • Steve Pluvia 07/28/09 5:01 PM

        For a guy who has said very little in the past he sure wasn’t shy in this interview.

      • Steve Pluvia 07/29/09 5:05 PM

        Interesting Weir claims to be spending YEARS developing this gee wiz bang super-dupper capacitor thingy, and he talks all texan about his CIA work and his vast manufacturing and engineering experience, yet he just never bothered to build an itsy bitsy prototype to prove the concept?  Even though he admits it would jack the valuation of his company to the moon.. Instead, he would have us believe he built all this automated equipment to make the powdered stuff that makes up the super-dupper thingy, and now he’s gonna build a big ol production line for the end product ESU’s and yet he doesn’t have a single prototype to demonstrate to anybody that what he wants to build actually works?  Huh?  I wonder if he knows that he has to have one of them there working prototype dohickeys otherwise that there patent thingy is (ahem) worthless…  And that them there “circuits” that would control the super-dupper thingy would need the supper-dupper thingy first so they would know how to design the control thingy?  Imagine that conversation:  “Can you please design a control circuit for a power source that has unknown specifications because nobody ever built one before,although I have this here patent that shows what it can (ahem) do…”

  • modernsteam 08/3/09 8:29 PM

    to Steve Pluvia:

    Did Dick Weir say “he just never bothered to build a .... prototype”?

    Reply
  • Tom Weir 08/7/09 2:05 PM

    Steve, I know who you work for.  Come to Cedar Park for a tour and you’ll ask your investors to change their mnds

    Reply
      • Mike S. 08/10/09 1:13 PM

        Tom,
        As someone who’s interested in your technology, I must say I’d love a tour.  Please don’t limit it to someone hurling insults.  grin  You can reach me @ (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

        Thanks,

        Mike

      • Steve Pluvia 08/10/09 2:17 PM

        Tom, I’ll come if you let me bring my engineer and you answer his questions.  I’ll let you present to my investors as a trade.

      • Steve Pluvia 08/10/09 10:16 PM

        Tom Weir, here’s an idea:  You let me and my Pal from Paradogm Capital come down ‘n visit you ‘n yer country brother in Cedar Park. I’ll make a recording of the conversation.  We’ll buy some stock in a discounted Zenn stock offering.  Next we’ll “accidentally”  leak my interview on the net, then dump our stock into the pump.  Not sure what they call this in Texas.  In Ontario we call it ride’n yer dumb country ass to the bank—GIDDY-UP!

  • Broschultz 08/10/09 12:04 PM

    Tom, I’d love to come to Cedar Park.  I hear it beautiful this time of year.  I’ll even bring my guitar and sing the Ballad of the E Esu.

    Reply

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