Article tools sponsored by

Power conversion gets a boost

Bruce Wiebusch, Regional Editor -- Design News, April 23, 2001

Recent brownouts in California call attention to the need for reliable energy. Hospitals, banks, and many continuos-flow manufacturing plants rely on distributed power sources that efficiently deliver energy to computers, machinery, and other equipment around the clock and without fail. Ecostar, a new joint venture owned by Ford, Daimler-Chrysler, and Ballard Power Systems, is providing a much-needed boost to power conversion and control electronics. They are adapting technology developed for the automotive industry to a variety of industrial applications from 75 to 350 kW. Fred Flett, Ecostar's vice-president of engineering, explains that the company's new stationary power conversion electronics began in electric vehicles. "Due to our automotive experience, we are very fortunate to have been involved in developing efficient power conversion electronics," says Flett. "Our advanced control architectures and hardware-in-the-loop development tools allow development of control strategies—for example, alternative pulse width modulation techniques—while being connected to the grid," he says. Applications for the new power conversion and control system include small gas turbines, fuel cells, and other portable or stationary power generation systems. Allied Signal Power Systems Inc., for example, uses Ecostar electronics in its back-up power systems (BPS). The control system allows synchronized parallel operation of multiple power units as load is added or dropped. It also optimizes the BPS's operation for achieving the best performance for a given load. Usage modes for the Ecostar power conversion system include peak shaving, load following, base load, and grid blackout auto start. Operating modes include grid parallel operation, stand-alone power generation, auto transfer from grid parallel to stand-alone, and multi-unit connects. For more information contact Dwight Hansell, Ecostar, 15001 Commerce Dr., N. Dearborn, MI 48120; Tel: (313) 248-1496; Fax: (313) 845-5349.

related stories
resource center
by this author

View more articles by Bruce Wiebusch

Technology Marketplace

Article tools sponsored by

Talkback

We would love your feedback!

» View All Talkback Threads

DN's Resource Center Get Free Information, Made Easy

Catalysts for Innovation
Hewlett Packard | Design Guide
Request Item
Product Lifecycle Management
Hewlett Packard | Design Guide
Request Item

View all DN resources >>

Design News Partner Zones

JUNE 24TH WEBCAST: Collaborative Requirements Engineering
Speed your innovation. Capture the "voice of the customer" and translate customer requests into user requirements that define new products. Find out why the new ENOVIA Requirements Management solution enables organizations to improve their overall global requirements management process. Read More

Light Matters: Systems Level Approach to HBLED illumination applications
Its good practice to apply a systems-level approach to high-brightness LED (HBLED) illumination applications. Minimally, the system includes the optical, thermal and electrical characteristics of the of the HBLED, the lens (if any) which is built-in to its package, secondary optics such as external plastic lenses/reflectors to direct the light as your application requires and power driver electronics. Read More

Design Engineers' Portal for Sensing and Machine Safety
Whatever industry you're in, or whatever product you manufacture, the right sensors to automate your plant, and to improve your overall efficiency, quality and safety are a must. You'll find Banner Engineering to be an amazing resource of products, training and people with expertise.