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The first thing you notice about a Zenn car is its silence. "You can hear the birds singing driving down an urban street," Ian Clifford, founder of Toronto's Zenn Motor Co., boasted to Rick Mercer, bringing a mock tear to the comedian's eye when he visited the company's assembly plant for a segment of his show last year.

Zenn (for "zero emissions, no noise") is a low-speed electric car, conceived and assembled in Canada. It can go 80 kilometres on one charge, maxing out at 40 km/hr, which pretty much limits it to neighbourhood excursions. Some 350 have been sold, mainly to U.S. buyers, as only one Canadian province — Quebec —permits it on its roads. It is, Mr. Clifford admits, a niche technology.

But the 46-year-old entrepreneur has much bigger plans. In 2004, Mr. Clifford signed a licence with Eestor, a Texas battery developer, that gives Zenn exclusive rights to use its technology in small and mid-size cars. Because Eestor's battery promises to propel a car up to 400 kilometres at highway speeds after just a five-minute charge, the deal could have a massive upside: Mr. Clifford envisions "Zennergy" electric propulsion systems powering millions of new and old vehicles. "We want Zennergy drives to be ubiquitous with electric-drive cars," he says. "We want to be the standard."

Mr. Clifford will be online Friday at 1 p.m. ET to take your questions on Zenn's technology and its big deal with Eestor. Click here to submit your question for Mr. Clifford now.

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Steve Remington from Portland United States writes: What can you tell us about the schedule for delivery of EESUs that ZENN will be using in the City Car? Has Zenn begun any evaluations as yet? When do you anticipate that to occur?

Ian Clifford: The timeline for the delivery of an EESU is entirely within the purview of EEStor. With regards to the cityZENN, our product rollout schedule is not entirely dependent on EEStor's timeline however we remain confident that an EEStor powered cityZENN will be launched by the last quarter of 2009.

D. Inmon from Fort Worth writes: You have stated a goal of rolling out highway speed vehicles by the Fall of 2009. Yet your company does not have a crash tested vehicle for this purpose. How will you meet your goal?

Ian Clifford: ZENN Motor Company has not yet announced its OEM production partner for the cityZENN or the initial target markets (geographic regions) for the launch of the cityZENN. Given that we will be utilizing an existing, proven and certified OEM platform for the cityZENN much of the certification work has already been done. We will launch the cityZENN into markets that we meet or exceed all relevant passenger vehicle safety standards and have necessary distribution and infrastructure established.

S L from Victoria Canada writes: Do you have working EESU's in your hands? If so, how many and how close to the production version are they

Ian Clifford: Due to our non-disclosure agreement with EEStor we cannot state specifically what stage of their technology we are working with. However EEStor has stated publically that they are in the final stages of the commercialization of their technology and ZENN remains confident in their progress.

Jeffrey Lucia from Parkland, Florida United States writes: Will the ZennDrive be geared to specific vehicles initially? If so, which vehicles are targeted to be the first ones on the list? When are you going to start taking orders?

Ian Clifford: ZENNergy Drivetrain systems will be developed in joint venture with various OEMs to meet the drive system requirements for their electric vehicles (powered by ZENNergy). Many OEM discussions are already taking place.

Rong Zhou from El Monte United States writes: Thank you for taking the time with us. I am a Zenn stock owner. The question at large is probably if EESTOR will still deliver their product to Zenn by the end of this year. Can you confirm this? Another question: If EESTOR turns out to be with or above spec for its capacity and weight (53kwh and 300kg), but still without 3rd party permitivity certification, what is the legal consequences of the stock investment agreement that Zenn has with EESTOR? What is the lawyer's opinion?

Ian Clifford: The timeline for the delivery of an EESU is entire within the purview of EEStor and as such I cannot comment on delivery timelines. I will restate that we remain confident in the launch of an EEStor EESU (electrical energy storage unit) powered cityZENN by the last quarter of 2009. As for the permittivity announcement and the implications for both our milestone payment and additional equity investment, we are confident that our interests in all aspects are adequately secured.   

Roland Rauenhorst from Olivia, MN United States writes: When will you be setting up distributors for retrofitting the Zennergy drive system into existing vehicles?

Ian Clifford: As outlined at our AGM in March of this year, ZENNergy Drive systems for internal combustion engine conversions will be initially targeted to large commercial fleets (like delivery, taxi and limousine fleets in cities around the world). Development and distribution of ZENNergy Drive systems for individual consumer vehicles will follow as the market develops and the most efficient business models evolve.

Duncan Macomber from United States writes: Have you ever seen a working prototype of an Eestor ESU? Thanks.

Ian Clifford: To repeat, due to our non-disclosure agreement with EEStor we cannot state specifically what stage of their technology we have been exposed to or are working with.

Lee Underkofler from Blanchard, Idaho United States writes: Has the development work to date determined that the 'UltraCapacitor' will be a viable energy storage device for electric cars? Can you estimate what the volume production costs might be for the Zenn 'CitiCar' UltraCapacitor storage pack? Thank you, Lee

Ian Clifford: Yes, EEStor's technology once fully commercialized is a viable energy storage device for all-electric vehicles. We have not released costing at this time but our mission as a company has always been to ensure the mass adoption of electric drive vehicles. That goal can only happen if electric vehicles are affordable to consumers in their markets around the world.

Kevin Copeland from Spring Hill, TN United States writes: What will it entail to convert a vehicle to all electric, the cost, date available? Can this be retrofitted by the consumer? What limitations (speed, distance. etc.) are there for vehicles such as a 2000 4wd Ford Explorer?

Ian Clifford: Pricing targets for conversions have not yet been disclosed, but suffice to say that our targets pre-suppose affordable and sensible solutions for mass conversions of internal combustion vehicles to ZENNergy Drive.

Jean Pierre de Lutz from La Garde Freinet France writes: I have been following your development, notably the EEStor progress as cryptic as it may be as I am interested in developing 'green' propulsion for sailboats (see: www.greenboatbateauvert.com ) Although some form of fossil fuel driven hybrid integration will be required in the short term for electrical generation, my long term hope and objective is building on a modular systems integration approach to enable swapping out the ICE generation in favor of a methanol or perhaps other SOFC fuel cell. Such alternative energy development will come to be, the real paradigm change is energy storage providing sufficient autonomy for the average sailor's maneuvering / motoring needs through accumulated storage from shore power plus solar and wind complements. I would be very interested in knowing if your technology / systems modules could be applicable to my project as well as your possible insights

Ian Clifford: Utilization of EEStor EESUs for boat applications is entirely possible, and of course one of the main reasons that ZENN Motor Company is also a shareholder in EEStor is that there are so many exciting global opportunities for their technology in many different applications and industries - but as our license agreement only extends to automotive applications, I would suggest engaging EEStor directly to answer your questions.

Brad Dugard from Toronto Canada writes: Mr. Clifford - I'd buy one of your cars in a heartbeat (despite the economy) if only it went 60km/h - allowing for easier use in the city. What are the challenges to having a faster car, and are you planning to confront those issues (and if so, when)?

Ian Clifford: Currently there is not a vehicle class defined between a low speed vehicle (the current ZENN) and a highway capable passenger vehicle. There is a movement underway in the USA to define a "medium speed electric vehicle" class that would operate at higher speeds than a low speed vehicle and on higher speed roads. (Currently the ZENN low speed vehicle is limited to a top speed of 40 kph and can operate on roadways with a 50 kph speed limit or under.) As for future vehicles from ZENN, we have announced our cityZENN vehicle which will meet all highway passenger vehicle standards and will be able to operate on any type of roadway. The planned launch of the cityZENN is fourth quarter of 2009.

Tauqeer Chishti from Mississauga Canada writes: Hi Mr. Clifford,

How do you plan to penetrate the Canadian auto market? Currently, Zenn does not even have a retailer available in Canada's financial capital - Toronto - actually, Montreal is the only city in Canada where Zenn has its presence.

Moreover, what post-sale support is available to Zenn customers. Considering this is a very special vehicle, where can Zenn customer go get the best out of Zenn, for years to come.

Thank you,
Tauqeer

Ian Clifford: Currently we are beginning to deliver ZENN vehicles to consumers and fleets in Quebec. This is in response to a 3 year pilot project that the Province of Quebec implemented in June of this year for the demonstration of low speed vehicles on mixed use roads throughout the province. British Columbia has implemented on road regulations for low speed vehicles which limits their use to 40 kph roadways, so the market potential is extremely limited. Ontario today announced, yet again, further study on low speed vehicles in Ontario... all this while low speed vehicles are legal in 45 of the 50 states and throughout Europe, Asia and the rest of the world... So, as a small company, we assess every market on its own merits, and so far there are many roadblocks to the deployment of zero emission low speed vehicles in Canada. To answer your support question, all of our vehicles are sold through ZENN approved and supported retailers. The cars carry a full warranty and are serviced by ZENN qualified technicians.

chris decker from Canada writes: Hasten the day when the electric car is perfected.

I've been wondering how the heater would work? I once owned a 1967 VW. The heater was awful. I almost froze to death. I bought another VW in 1969. It had a gasoline heater which I later realized must have been fire hazard.

I look forward to an electric car but I want to keep my creature comforts as far as heat is concerned.

Ian Clifford: Electric heating in an electric car can fully meet the requirements of even the most demanding climate. Obviously many homes across Canada utilize electric heating. The key is that electric heating is quite energy intense, so you need to be able to store enough surplus power (power in addition to the power you need to move the vehicle) onboard so that the performance of your electric car is not compromised. With the inclusion of high density energy storage that EEStor will provide to ZENN vehicles, the energy issue of heating and air conditioning electric vehicles will be fully addressed.

Devin McCarthy from Ottawa Canada writes: Hi Ian, thanks for taking the time to connect with us today. I have been following ZENN for a while now, and wish you and your company widespread success.

My question is: Has the recent rise and fall of oil prices revealed (or confirmed) to you a faddish transience in consumers' appetite for 'green' alternatives? Does a sufficient consumer base still put a price on environmental benefit, or is the excitement surrounding renewables in the last few years simply a price-based movement that is losing steam as gas prices drop? And, finally, how much does the success of ZENN hinge on either factor (gas prices or the existence of enviro-consumers)?

Again, thank you!

Ian Cliifford: Very good questions! I personally believe that the "writing is on the wall" in relation to both the supply and pricing of petroleum products and that there is a very established and growing global environmental awareness. And that the shift in consumer, government and industrial awareness towards the imperative of environmental change has reached well past the tipping point. That said, people are very fickle, and cost is a huge driver on so many fronts, especially in these troubled times. Ultimately though, I am quite certain that the economic benefits of shifting to "green" sustainable solutions will be fully appreciated and understood by all. So to answer your last question, I think the survival of the PLANET depends on this global shift, and that what we are doing at ZENN is an important part of ensuring that the necessary solutions are commercialized and implemented around the world.