SatCon Gets Government Grant To Develop New Hybrid Electric Vehicle Drive Components.

SatCon Technology Corp., a leader in critical powering solutions, said that it was selected by the U. S. Department of Energy to develop an optimized hybrid electric vehicle drive train. The drive train consists of a motor controller and a traction motor that drives the wheels in a hybrid electric

The objective of the program is to incorporate SatCon's new motor and electronic control technologies into an advanced electric drive train for hybrid electric vehicles that will operate more efficiently over the full vehicle speed range.

"The drivetrain will build off the work we have been doing for the Department of Energy under our $10 million advanced integrated power module, or AIPM, program," said David Eisenhaure, SatCon's president and chief executive officer. "Basically, we will take a 35 kilowatt AIPM module and combine it with a new high efficiency motor to construct an advanced, low cost motor drive for use with hybrid electric cars."

"The AIPM module is currently in its fourth generation, or production prototype phase, and is being integrated for upcoming reliability and environmental testing. This is a continuation of our work in developing advanced motors and electronics for next generation hybrid electric vehicles," concluded Eisenhaure.

"We recently announced some $1.5 million in new work for the Army to develop other components for hybrid electric vehicles and we are continuing to develop auxiliary motors for fuel cell cars for one of the major U.S. automakers. Hybrid electric cars that use fuel cells and clean turbines have been receiving considerable notice by the major auto makers recently, as the need to develop low cost, environmentally cleaner cars continues. We think that developing lower cost electronics like our advanced integrated power modules can be enablers for hybrid electric cars and the future hydrogen economy."