I Power Energy Systems announced that they have been awarded a contract by the Army Power Division of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC) for the development of a Hybrid Intelligent Power (HI-Power) management system. The program addresses the technology development and demonstration of an intelligent power management architecture layout and system design that will employ both source and load-side power management in a tactical environment. The operational objective of the system is the reduction of battlefield fuel consumption for small to medium battlefield tactical operation centers while having a minimum impact on transportability, deployability, and readiness levels.
I Power states that it has assembled a strong team of experts in the field of power management and control to address the Army needs. The Military Integrated Distributed Energy Management System (MIDEMS) Team is comprised of Princeton Power Systems, a leader in power electronics, EnthEnergy of Carmel, Indiana with expertise in load management and efficient, Evolutionairy Monitoring Systems of Indianapolis specializing in remote monitoring of mechanical and electrical systems, and Purdue engineering researchers at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis. The award is for the initial sixteen month Technology Development and Evaluation phase of a three phase program. The following System Development and Demonstration Phases are competitive and will be based on the success of the initial phase. This approach provides the opportunity for technology to be progressively transitioned to operational forces as it becomes adequately proven.
Mike Hudson, I Power’s CEO, noted that this approach has been successfully used in military hardware programs such as aircraft engine and avionics development. He added, "I Power is extremely pleased to have been selected to address this important Army requirement. It is an excellent fit with our strong system engineering expertise and our proven experience of working with other high tech entities and research universities. We view this technology as having application to our civil business as well as creating a sound military product for us."
