An electric power converter for the extraction of atmospheric electric energy according to the present invention comprises: (1) an antenna/charge accumulation element that is geometrically optimized to be charged by the electric activities of the atmosphere, the charge accumulation element having a conducting surface; (2) a primary coil wound with an insulated conductor on a conductive coil form, the coil being attached electrically and mechanically to the conducting surface of the charge accumulation element such that the primary coil is attached near the point at which the electrostatic field contacts the charge accumulation element; (3) an external capacitor conducted in parallel with the primary coil to provide a specific resonant frequency; and (4) a secondary coil having a greater number of turns than the primary coil, the second coil being positioned coaxially with the first coil and acting as a resonant step-up transformer winding inductively coupled with the first coil. The converter absorbs ESD impulses from an electrostatic field. A periodic, exponentially dampening signal with a sinusoidal waveform is generated in the secondary coil and measurable on leads of the second coil. This electric power converter can be used for the generation of usable power that can be fed into a power grid or power various loads.