PowerCache (San Diego, CA) announced the availability of the PC1000, a 1,200-farad ultracapacitor. The PC1000 supplies power to a system during peak...
HbT (Rancho Dominguez) and Visteon Corp. (Dearborn, MI) have formed an exclusive engineering, development and manufacturing alliance to commercialize HbT's hydrogen fuel processors for use in PEM fuel cell systems. The agreement calls for Visteon to provide engineering, design and support services to HbT for its fuel processors, including design and manufacturing for HbT's facility […]
Energy Conversion Devices Inc. (Troy, MI) announced that its unit Ovonic Battery Co. Inc. had filed suit against Matsushita Battery Industrial Co. Ltd. (MBI, Japan), Toyota Motor Corp. (Japan), Panasonic EV Energy Co. Ltd. (Japan) and other related entities for patent infringement. The suit charges that Matsushita's hybrid electric vehicle batteries, battery components and battery […]
Zapworld.Com (ZAP, Sebastopol, CA) and solar contractor Sun Pirate have formed a strategic alliance. The two will begin offering pre-packaged solar systems as well as custom consulting for commercial projects. In addition, Zapworld.Com has been offering solar panels for use with its electric vehicles. "With solar, you can ZAP your utility bills forever," commented Roger […]
Toshiba Electronics Europe (Germany) has expanded its Compact Standard Series of IGBT modules. The company has added three new 250V devices aimed at high-power switching and motor-control applications in forklift trucks, light electric vehicles and other designs where space is restricted. Manufactured using silicon N-channel IGBT technology, the three modules offer current ratings of 150A, […]
Ansoft Corp. (Pittsburgh, PA) reported record results for its third quarter ended January 31, 2001. Revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2001 totaled $10.8 million, an increase of 28 percent, compared to $8.4 million reported in the previous fiscal year's third quarter. License revenue increased 28 percent to $8.3 million, compared to $6.5 million […]
The March issue of The Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Letter reports that Dubai, an oil-producing member state of the United Arab Emirates, is closely examining the idea of producing hydrogen as an environmentally benign, zero-emission automotive fuel in cooperation with BMW (Germany). Dubai and BMW are supporting a feasibility study at Munich's Technical University that […]
Ballard Power Systems (Canada) reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and the year ending December 31, 2000. Revenues increased by 24 percent in 2000, to $41.1 million, from $33.2 million in 1999. Ballard attributes this increase to the rise in automotive orders and higher revenues from 250kW stationary power generators. Ballard's investment income […]
Ed Bloom of E. J. Bloom Associates (San Rafael, CA) has published his annual statistical analysis of papers to be presented at the Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC, Anaheim, CA) this year. This year, Bloom discovered that 66.4 percent of all the papers being presented are associated with universities, with only 33.5 percent being from […]
Yokogawa Electric Corp. (Japan) and Ando Electric Co. (Japan) have signed a partnership agreement in which the companies will collaborate on business strategies for their test and measurement and semiconductor test equipment product lines. At the same time, NEC (Japan), which currently holds 35 percent of Ando's issued shares, has agreed to transfer all but […]
Texas Instruments (TI, Dallas, TX) reports that revenue for the first quarter of 2001 will be lower than previously expected due to the economic slowdown. The company stated that first-quarter revenue will decline about 20 percent compared to the fourth quarter, instead of its previous estimate of about 10 percent. Due to the additional drop […]
Fuel Cell Energy (Danbury, CT) reported revenues of $5.3 million for the first quarter ended January 31, 2001, compared with revenues of $3.6 million in the same quarter of 2000, an increase of 59 percent. Net loss for the period was $2.8 million, or $0,18 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $5,000 […]
General Motors Corp. (GM, Detroit, MI) and three of its California dealers have filed suit in the California Superior Court seeking review of the state's Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate. GM filed the action in Contra Costa County after being informed that the California Air Resources Board (ARB) had denied GM's petition for a hearing, […]
PowerStream Technology (Orem, UT) has developed a new line of OEM battery chargers for sealed lead-acid batteries that are used in electric bikes and scooters. The new series PST-0321 chargers will charge 12Vdc or 24Vdc batteries, with currents of 1A, 2A or 3A. Charging is typically six to eight hours, dependent on the characteristics of […]
The Wall Street Journal reported online that Tyco International Ltd. (Pembroke, Bermuda) has placed about 5,000 workers in its US electronics business on unpaid leave for two to three weeks. The company cited "inventory adjustments" by some customers as the cause. Company spokeswoman Judith Czelusniak was quoted as saying that the suspensions began earlier in […]