ZENN stands for Zero Emission No-Noise and is known for its Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV). I wasn’t expecting to find much intrigue about a Canadian based company best known for a car that, on the surface, looks and performs like a over hyped golf cart. The lead-acid battery powered NEV has a top speed of 25 mph and a range of 30-50 miles on a charge.

But you know what? Zenn is fixing to to make a run in the EV industry. First of all, the 25 mph top speed is restricted by the Canadian government because they did not feel the vehicle met safety standards of higher speed operation. Then Canada wouldn’t allow the ZENN cars to operate on roads unless they were outfitted with warning lights and signs. It was not until June 17, 2008 that residents of Quebec were allowed to drive ZENN in Canada without warning signals.

The real kicker is that ZENN gained exclusive rights from EEStor over the past few years to make electric vehicles up to 3,100 lbs. EEstor is developing a solid-state electric battery that is being considered game changing in the electric vehicle industry. The Ceramic EESU should be less than half the weight of lithium-ion batteries, fully chargeable in minutes rather than hours, and have an unbelievably long charge life.

Using this technology, Zenn is hoping to release the cityZENN, a vehicle with a top speed of 78 mph and a 250 mile ev range. The 5 minute recharge time will not be available from household outlets, but special charging stations. Home charges will still take you a few hours, more or less, depending on your outlet. ZENN is hoping these models will be ready by Fall of 2009 with a price range of $25,000-$30,000. The company also hopes to retrofit our current gas guzzlers with its EEstor equipped, “ZENNergy drivetrain”.

Sounds like ZENN has a lot in store for us, here’s hoping they succeed in bringing us their fancy new technology.