Zapworld.Com (Sebastopol, CA) recently announced it now offers solar panels in three different sizes that plug directly into its electric bikes and scooters for free, non-polluting electricity.According to the company, the panels use a proprietary photovoltaic technology that does not use any glass or rigid framing, making them lightweight and flexible. They come in sizes […]
Three organizations recently announced they are embarking on a major humanitarian effort to deliver solar-powered state-of-the-art digital radio technology to the most remote regions of the world. The venture, called "=access", brings together Solaria Corp. (San Francisco, CA), a solar systems company, WorldSpace Corp. (Washington, DC), a provider of global digital satellite broadcasting, and the […]
BK Precision Corp. (Placentia, CA) recently announced the addition of two regulated 28A dc power supplies, model 1689 and model 1690. Utilizing a standard 115Vac outlet as the power source, the bench top units are designed to provide variable voltage outputs of 1Vdc to 15Vdc, and up to 28A (at 13.8V) at continuous operation.According to […]
Exide Corp. (Reading, PA) announced it has entered into a preliminary agreement to acquire a controlling interest in Lion Compact Energy (LCE), in a deal worth up to $20.0 million. LCE is a privately held company conducting research in dual-graphite battery technology. Exide expects the batteries developed by LCE will be able to produce more […]
Ballard Power Systems (Burnaby, BC) recently announced that its subsidiary, Ballard Generation Systems, has delivered a 250kW class natural gas fuel cell power generator to Cinergy Technology Inc. (Cincinnati, OH). The power generator, which uses Ballard fuel cells, is the first trial unit built by Ballard Generation Systems and will be commissioned at the Naval […]
Intersil Corp. (Melbourne, FL) recently announced a new 80V n-channel UltraFET. The power MOSFET is designed for industrial, communications and consumer markets. According to the company, the HUF75545 is an 80V, 75A MOSFET with one of the lowest on resistance per unit area of silicon at 8.2 milliohms (10 milliohms maximum). The device is designed […]
Spire Corp. (Bedford, MA) recently announced that it will provide a SPI-LINE turn-key photovoltaic module production line to BP Solar Malaysia Sdn Bhd (Malaysia), a joint venture between BP Solarex and Projass Enecorp Sdn Bhd. The SPI-LINE integrated production line is specifically designed for BP Solar Malaysia using Spire's PC module assembly equipment. Malaysia uses […]
Ralston Purina Company (St. Louis, MO) recently announced it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its Energizer Power Systems OEM (Gainesville, FL) rechargeable battery business to Moltech Corp. (Tucson, AZ). Ralston's Eveready Battery Company subsidiary will retain a small minority interest in the combined business. When the acquisition has been completed, the Energizer Power […]
Mitra Power Systems (Belgium), recently achieved environmental certification according to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 standard. The granting of the certification comes after an environmental audit held earlier this year. To implement the ISO 14001 system, Mitra focused on identification, organized sorting, and re-use or recycling of waste materials, and analysis and improvement […]
Cherokee International LLC (Tustin, CA) has announced the introduction of its 3U CompactPCI, 150W Quad power supply. According to Cherokee, the CMP150 operates from 85Vac to 264Vac input and delivers 150W of continuous output power at an efficiency of 70 percent. Maximum continuous output power ratings for the CMP150 model are +3.3V/33A, 5.0V/20A, +12V/8A and […]
Cherry Semiconductor Corp. (East Greenwich, RI) recently announced its new three-phase buck controller, the CS5303. The CS5303, in a low-profile 28-pin SOIC, is claimed to be the first device to integrate six on-chip synchronous gate drivers and an active current-sharing algorithm. According to Cherry, the CS5303's feature-rich architecture saves board space, lowers overall solution cost, […]
The MIT Solar-Electric Vehicle Team (Cambridge, MA) recently unveiled its newest car, the Manta GTX. The Manta GTX, the successor to the Manta GT, is built on the basic Manta GT model but is more aerodynamic with a lighter weight. Major sponsors for the project include MIT, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, the Bill and […]
The United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) announced it has completed work with Saft (Paris) under their NiMH battery-development contract. The final NiMH module design meets all of the goals and targets specified in the contract. The module design is a single 12V unit that incorporates a resealable vent in each cell to guard against […]
Saft (Paris) recently announced a multi-million dollar expansion of lithium-ion production capabilities at its Cockeysville, MD, facility. This expansion is in support of its North American space, defense and automotive customers. The Cockeysville facility will be upgraded with new, automated production equipment, capable of producing both prototype samples and production quantities of commercial lithium-ion batteries […]
Ericsson (Sweden) has developed the PLF 5166 ac/dc power supply. Ericsson claims the supply provides 70 percent more power than previous models, within the same 60mm wide 6U case at the same cost. The power supply uses a two-stage topology, with active power-factor correction, to deliver a power factor of more than 0.95 combined with […]