National Semiconductor Corp. (Santa Clara, CA) announced a second program of open market repurchases of up to eight million shares of common stock. This program is in addition to a current authorization, previously announced on September 22, 2000, to purchase a similar eight million shares. As of the end of the second quarter of fiscal […]
NBG Technologies Inc. (NBG, Hauppauge, NY) has signed a contract with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) to install, demonstrate and evaluate a PEM residential cogeneration fuel cell system developed by H Power Corp. (Clifton, NJ). The fuel cell system, which is powered by hydrogen derived from natural gas, will be installed on a site […]
American Power Conversion Corp. (APC, West Kingston, RI) and USDataCenters Inc. (Marlborough, MA) announced the completion of the first-stage implementation of an APC Silcon 1.5MW UPS system plus built-in redundancy. USDataCenters is building the UPS system to ensure a no-fail power supply of 200W per square foot at its Marlborough, MA, data center facility. "Unlike […]
Precise Power Corp. (Palmetto, FL) has developed the Roesel Motor Generator (RMG) to meet the needs of customers requiring uninterruptible power-quality protection. The RMG consists of a written-pole motor linked by a shaft with a written-pole generator. The motor within the RMG starts a high inertia rotor, which doubles as a flywheel. Using flywheel technology, […]
Ballard Power Systems (Vancouver, BC) announced that it has received a $1.9 million order from Honda R&D Co. (Saitama, Japan) for the Mark 900 Series fuel cell power modules and support services. The Ballard Mark 900 Series modules incorporate Ballard's latest-generation fuel cell stack, the Mark 900, which was designed to manufacture in automotive volumes. […]
United Technologies Corp. (Hartford, CT) reported a 20 percent increase in fourth-quarter earnings per share, to $0.84, as compared with $0.70 in 1999, excluding the restructuring charge and other actions in the prior year's quarter. Net income was $426 million, 18 percent above the $362 million reported 1999 before prior-year restructuring and other actions. Full-year […]
A new polymer, developed with funding by TPL Inc. (Albuquerque, NM), may halve the size of the military's truck-borne pulsed-power capacitor banks, leading to more mobile weaponry. The polymer has a dielectric constant of 8.0, twice that of other insulating polymers used in capacitors, with the potential to go even higher. As a result, it […]
Electric Fuel Corp. (New York, NY) reported results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2000. Revenues for the fourth quarter were $2,20,000, compared with $566,000 in the previous quarter and $786,000 in the year-earlier period. Net loss for the three months ended December 31, 2000 was $3,893,000, compared with $2,754,000 in the […]
Bolder Technology Corp. (Golden, CO) reported that it will lay off half of its work force and will outsource some manufacturing to GP Batteries International Ltd. (China). The company announced that it would cut 89 full-time and 126 part-time employees and record changes in the first quarter. These cost-reduction initiatives were prompted by the company's […]
Exide Technologies (Princeton, NJ) revealed that it will probably face an indictment or a plea agreement with federal prosecutors investigating its dealings as the former supplier of Sears DieHard batteries. The company reports that the plea agreement could include a substantial fine. The US attorney for the Southern District of Illinois is investigating whether former […]
Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. (Japan) was chosen by Ford Motor Co. (Detroit, MI) to be the sole supplier of battery systems for Ford's first hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), the Escape HEV, which will debut in 2003. Sanyo's battery system contains a battery holder with 240 batteries in a series/parallel configuration, as well as the ECU, […]
Tyco International Ltd. (Bermuda) reported that diluted earnings per share for its first quarter ended December 31, 2000 were 57 cents, a 24 percent increase over earnings of 46 cents per share in its first quarter of fiscal 2000. Net income before extraordinary items and cumulative effect of accounting change rose to $1.01 billion, an […]
Maxwell Technologies Inc. (San Diego, CA) announced that it has signed an agreement to supply ultracapacitor energy-storage cells to General Motors (Detroit, MI) and General Motors' Allison Transmission division. Maxwell Technologies President and CEO Carl Eibl said that the agreement is the first of what the company expects to be multiple opportunities for its ultracapacitors […]
Edward DeGraan, the acting chief executive of Gillette Co. (Boston, MA) reported Monday that the company had enjoyed steady Duracell Battery sales in the fourth quarter as it plans to revive the unit's profit margins in the next 18 months. "The fourth quarter came in just as we planned," said DeGraan. He also stated that […]
General Motors Corp. (GM, Detroit, MI) and Toyota Motor Corp. (TMC, Japan) have announced specific progress on their multi-year technology agreement. This progress, which includes identification of specific fuels for fuel cell vehicles (FCVs), was achieved through separate research agreements and significant technological collaboration with ExxonMobil Corp. (Irving, TX). GM and TMC reported that they […]