This is the fourth part of a listing (with links for the full story) of the most read stories on PowerPulse.Net for 2010, thus providing a window into the "pulse" of the trends and interests in the Power Electronics Industry. This series will continue through Monday, culminating with the most read story of the year.
20: CUI Announces Advanced Power Topology License Agreement with California Power Research
CUI, Inc., a subsidiary of Waytronx, Inc., has entered into an exclusive Field of Use Agreement with California Power Research Inc. to license their BPS-5 advanced power topology. BPS-5 provides advantages across a wide range of ac-dc and dc-dc power conversion applications through a significant reduction in switching losses within PWM circuits.
The full story can be found here.
19: DENSO Develops Battery Monitoring Unit for Lithium-ion Batteries
DENSO Corp. has developed its first battery monitoring unit for lithium-ion batteries used in vehicles. DENSO’s new battery monitoring unit utilizes a newly developed voltage control method that uses what is said to be a simpler and lower cost voltage control circuit, compared to the widely used voltage control method used in laptop computers and other hardware. The new product is installed in the Prius Plug-in Hybrid, which Toyota introduced at the end of 2009.
The full story can be found here.
18: Advanced Energy Announces Acquisition of PV Powered
Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire PV Powered Inc., a manufacturer of grid-tied PV inverters in the residential, commercial, and utility-scale markets. The acquisition is expected to add an estimated $40-50 million to Advanced Energy’s 2010 revenues and be neutral to marginally dilutive to GAAP net income in 2010.
The full story can be found here.
17: GE Announces Major European Offshore Wind Expansion & Investment in Four Countries
General Electric (GE) announced plans to invest approximately €340 million to develop or expand its wind turbine manufacturing, engineering and service facilities in four European countries – the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden and Germany – which GE says signals its deep commitment to the promising European offshore wind sector.
The full story can be found here.
16: Micro Inverters Battle DC-DC Converters for Supremacy in PV Systems
The battle has begun and makers of micro inverters are waging a war against makers of distributed dc-dc converters for control of the power conversion market for photovoltaic (PV) systems. The emergence of disruptive power architectures including micro inverters and dc-dc converters will be one of the most important trends in the PV market in the near-term. The stakes are high, literally hundreds of millions, or even billions, of dollars.
The full story can be found here.
15: EMerge and EPRI Make DC Power Progress at the 2010 Green Building Power Forum
The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the EMerge Alliance both made progress in the development of complementary dc powering standards at this year’s Green Building Power Forum (GBPF). The EMerge Alliance provided the first public discussion and review of its recentlyreleased dc-power standard for occupied spaces in buildings. EPRI developed the first "dc voltage tolerance envelope" plotting voltage variations versus time for 380Vdc powered equipment. And EPRI and Emerge announced a joint-effort for the promotion and development of dc power infrastructure standards and equipment in various facilities including data centers, industrial installations, and commercial and residential buildings.
The full story can be found here.
14: Lineage Power Announces Digital Power Technology Patent License Agreement with Power-One
Lineage Power Corp. and Power-One announced that they have executed a non-exclusive, worldwide Field-of-Use agreement for Power-One’s digital power technology (DPT) patents. The agreement expands the market for Lineage Power’s line of dc-dc point-of-load (POL) converters with the new digital DLynx™ Series.
The full story can be found here.
13: EPRI Finds DC Power Uses 15% Less Electricity Than AC System at Duke Energy Data Center
A preliminary test by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) of a dc power system at a Duke Energy data center in Charlotte, North Carolina found that the system uses 15% less electricity than the existing ac power system.
The full story can be found here.
12: Infineon Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Volterra Semiconductor
Infineon Technologies AG announced that on January 21, 2010, it filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Volterra Semiconductor Corp. in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. The suit seeks damages, including enhanced damages for willful infringement and injunctive relief.
The full story can be found here.
11: Advanced Power Conversion Technologies Detailed at Darnell Power Forum
Digitally-controlled photovoltaic power converters, advanced energy harvesting technologies and developments in power supply in package/power supply on chip (PSiP/ PwrSoC) devices were all reviewed on Tuesday at Darnell’s Power Forum. Presenters included Dave Freeman from Texas Instruments, Lonnie Johnson from Johnson Research and Development, Harry Ostaffe from Powercast and Arnold Alderman from Anagenesis Inc..
The full story can be found here.
