50 Most-Read Industry News Stories of 2013: 50 to 41
The following is a listing (with links for the full story) of the most read Industry News stories on PowerPulse.Net for 2013, thus providing a window into the "pulse" of the trends and interests in the Power Electronics Industry. This is the first article in the series, which will continue tomorrow.
50: SynQor IBA Patent Upheld by PTO
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office upheld the patentability of SynQor Inc.'s U.S. Patent relating to unregulated Intermediate Bus Architecture. The Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reversed an earlier decision by a patent examiner in an inter partes reexamination proceeding and upheld the patentability of SynQor’s U.S. Patent No. 7,072,190 (the "'190" patent) relating to unregulated Intermediate Bus Architecture ("IBA"). Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. v. SynQor, Inc., Appeal No. 2012-012209, Reexamination Control No. 95/001,207. more
49: Maxim to Acquire Volterra for $450 Million a 55% Premium
Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Volterra Semiconductor Corp. for $23 per share, which represents a 55% premium to Volterra Semiconductor’s closing share price on August 14, 2013. The transaction value is approximately $605 million equity value or $450 million net of Volterra’s cash position of approximately $155 million. Pending regulatory approvals, Maxim’s acquisition of Volterra is expected to close early in the December quarter. more
48: Cota Delivers Power Wirelessly over 30 Feet
Ossia, Inc. today came out of its stealth mode by showcasing its groundbreaking wireless power technology dubbed Cota. The Cota technology, the first commercially viable remote wireless power system, redefines wireless power by automatically delivering targeted energy to multiple devices from as far away as 30 feet, without requiring line of sight. A 30 foot range is enough distance to cover an average two-story home, establishing a new paradigm in power distribution that allows people to use Cota to charge or power a wide range of devices well beyond smartphones, to include remote controls, cameras, video game controllers, flashlights, smoke detectors and more. Hatem Zeine, founder and CEO of Ossia began his research and development in 2006, worked in stealth for many years and ultimately launched Ossia in 2013. The company received $3.2 million in funding and is currently raising a new round of venture capital. more
47: Siemens Installing Regenerative Energy Storage Unit on Light Rail Line
Siemens is currently installing the first Sitras SES Energy Storage Unit with supercapacitor technology in the U.S. on the new TriMet Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Transit Line. The southeast Portland Tacoma substation location will house the first U.S. storage unit that allows for energy created during braking to be stored and then re-used in one of two forms, energy savings or voltage stabilization during peak demand times. TriMet will utilize the system in voltage stabilization mode. more
46: BMW Operating Largest Fuel-Cell Fleet in North America
Plug Power Inc. announced that BMW Manufacturing Co. recently expanded the use of Plug Power hydrogen fuel cells at its Spartanburg, South Carolina facility to power all material handling trucks and forklifts, bringing its clean energy fleet to 275 units. This makes it the largest such fleet in North America. more
45: Infineon's 300mm Thin Wafer Fab Completes Qualification Begins Production
Infineon Technologies AG has received the first customer go-aheads for products of the CoolMOSâ„¢ family produced by the 300-millimeter line at the Villach (Austria) site. The production process based on the new technology has completed qualification. more
44: ADI Achieves Major Milestone by Shipping 1 Billionth Channel of iCoupler Digital Isolation
Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) has shipped the one-billionth channel of isolation based on its proprietary iCoupler® digital isolator technology. This achievement comes after more than a decade of global industry leadership in the area of galvanic safety isolation, which serves customers in a wide array of applications including industrial control systems and motor drives, solar energy systems, hybrid electric vehicles, medical equipment and plasma TVs. more
43: Transphorm Teams with Yskawa for GaN-based High-Power Converter
Transphorm Inc. announced at this week’s ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit that its novel 600V Gallium Nitride (GaN) module has enabled the world’s first GaN-based high power converter. Transphorm demonstrated the product built with its customer-partner Yaskawa Electric at the APEC 2013 industry conference. Additional technical details as well as datasheets for Transphorm’s GaN-based devices are expected to be forthcoming at next month’s IEEE Applied Electronics Conference. more
42: Toyota to Sell Electricity Management System Using Recycled Hybrid Vehicle Batteries
Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announces that starting this April, it will sell an electricity management system that uses recycled nickel-metal hydride batteries from hybrid vehicles to Toyota vehicle dealers throughout Japan. Through such means, TMC is aiming for the more effective use of resources used in batteries. The systems will be sold via TMC’s energy business company, Toyota Turbine and Systems Inc. more
41: Cree and Delta Partner to Design Next-Generation Solar Inverters with SiC MOSFETs
Cree, Inc. and Delta Energy Systems GmbH have partnered in a "breakthrough" in the photovoltaic (PV) inverter industry with the release of Delta’s new generation of solar inverters, which utilize SiC power MOSFETs from Cree. The use of SiC MOSFETs in the next-generation PV inverters can enable significant new milestones in power density, efficiency and weight. more
