SAN DIEGO,
April 9, 2014
/PRNewswire/ -- Maxwell Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:
MXWL) announced today that it is supplying ultracapacitors to ABB,
the global leader in power and automation solutions, for ABB's
recent contract win to upgrade Philadelphia area rail lines. As previously
announced, ABB will install a hybrid version of its high-efficiency
ENVILINE™ energy recovery and storage system for the
Southeast Pennsylvania Transit Authority's (SEPTA) light rail
system serving the greater Philadelphia area.
ABB installed a battery-based ENVILINE braking energy
recuperation system in a substation of SEPTA in 2012 and has now
incorporated Maxwell ultracapacitors in a new hybrid configuration
to increase energy recovery efficiency and extend battery life. In
addition to reducing SEPTA rail vehicles' consumption of
grid-supplied electrical energy by 10 to 20 percent, the system
enables SEPTA to provide frequency regulation services on the PJM
Interconnection Network, a regional transmission organization (RTO)
that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or
parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New
Jersey, North Carolina,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West
Virginia and the District of
Columbia.
"By incorporating ultracapacitors, we will recover more
braking energy, produce higher revenues from frequency regulation
and extend battery life," said Jacques
Poulin, ABB's product manager for energy storage and rail.
"The SEPTA model is the first of its kind in the world, going
beyond the recovery of braking energy by also helping the
electricity grid to be more stable and efficient with fast
regulation support."
Braking energy recuperation systems in electric and hybrid
vehicles save fuel and electrical energy by using resistance from
the electric motor to stop the vehicle, thereby converting kinetic
energy that would be wasted in a conventional friction-based
braking system into stored electrical energy. Ultracapacitors'
rapid charge/discharge characteristics uniquely enable them to
capture and store more energy during each braking event than
battery-based systems, which have limited ability to absorb energy
in the few seconds required to stop a vehicle.
"Transportation is the world's largest energy consumer, so
deployment of systems that conserve energy and reduce fuel
consumption and emissions are creating tremendous long-term growth
opportunities for our leading ultracapacitor technologies," said
John Warwick, Maxwell's interim
president and CEO.
Unlike batteries, which produce and store energy by means
of a chemical reaction, ultracapacitors store energy in an electric
field. This electrostatic energy storage mechanism enables
ultracapacitors to charge and discharge in as little as fractions
of a second, perform normally over a broad temperature range (-40°C
to +65°C), operate reliably through one million or more
charge/discharge cycles and resist shock and vibration. Maxwell
offers ultracapacitor cells ranging in capacitance from one to
3,000 farads and multi-cell modules ranging from 16 to 160 volts.
For more information on Maxwell's ultracapacitor products, please
visit Maxwell.com.
ABB INCORPORATES MAXWELL ULTRACAPACITORS IN
ENERGY-SAVING RAIL SYSTEM
About ABB: ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power
and automation technologies that enable utility and industry
customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental
impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries
and employs about 150,000 people.
About Maxwell: Maxwell is a global leader in the
development and manufacture of innovative, cost-effective energy
storage and power delivery solutions. Our ultracapacitor products
provide safe and reliable power solutions for applications in
consumer and industrial electronics, transportation and
telecommunications. Our high-voltage grading and coupling
capacitors help to ensure the safety and reliability of electric
utility infrastructure and other applications involving transport,
distribution and measurement of high-voltage electrical energy. Our
radiation-mitigated microelectronic products include power modules,
memory modules and single board computers that incorporate powerful
commercial silicon for superior performance and high reliability in
aerospace applications. For more information, please visit our
website: www.maxwell.com.
ABB Contacts: Ken
Graber: Ken.J.Graber@us.abb.com; +1 (262)
780-3873.
Maxwell Technologies Contacts:
Media: Rachel
Sullivan, Metis Communications: +1 (617) 236-0500;
maxwell@metiscomm.com
Investor:
Michael Sund: +1 (858) 503-3233;
msund@maxwell.com
Sales &
Technical: Brian Eichler: +1
(858) 503-3326; beichler@maxwell.com
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SOURCE Maxwell Technologies, Inc.