Raser Technologies Awarded Contract to Design and Develop Integrated Starter Alternator for Military Vehicles
16 November 2006
Raser Technologies, Inc., a technology licensing company established to develop and license advanced electric motor, controller and related technologies, has received a contract for the design and development of working prototypes of a Symetron Enhanced Integrated Starter Alternator (ISA) for use by the US Army in its fleet of more than 50,000 HMMWV (“Humvee”) vehicles.
The Symetron technology, which can be applied in a range of packages, AC or DC, can deliver the high torque of a permanent magnet motor without the use of permanent magnets—in essence, enabling the production of smaller, more powerful and less expensive motors. (Earlier post.)
Raser will perform the work in two phases. The first phase, expected to be performed over the next 18 months, provides Raser with funding of $461,000 and includes the delivery of engineering model ISAs and controllers to the Army and its contractors for design and development testing.
Raser expects the majority of revenue associated with this contract to be recorded in fiscal 2007. The current contract is being administered through ARINC.
Raser estimates that the second phase of preparing an ISA for full military and commercial production would require an additional $4.9 million in federal funding beginning in 2008. If funded, this second phase would include the delivery of fully-functioning ISA and controller prototypes for testing, evaluation and integration into current and developmental vehicle platforms.
The contract and scope of work are an extension of a project that was originally initiated with Raser and the Army’s Tank and Automotive Research and Development Center, (TARDEC) in October 2005. (Earlier post.)
The addition of a Symetron Enhanced ISA and controller should boost fuel economy, improve performance on steep inclines, and simplify maintenance by switching belt-driven accessories to electric drive. A high-performance ISA can also generate adequate mobile power on-board, thereby eliminating the need to tow auxiliary generators to power field operations such as medical and telecommunications units.
—Patrick Schwartz, Raser President
In a keynote presentation yesterday at the Hybrid Truck Users Forum, Major General Roger Nadeau, Commanding General of the US Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, stressed that while fuel is one of the Army’s largest challenges in the field, it still is not the prime driver for hybrid electric power—the focus is on internal generation and use of power for the increasing range of devices and for a silent watch capability.
Hybrid is an absolute necessity for Army transformation.
—General Nadeau
Excellent use of Army R & D funds. Nothing wrong with using Armed Forces funds to advance fuel economy on all types of transportation vehicles. A significant improvement over Oil war spending.
Let's hope that a lower cost version will eventually find its way into mass produced SUVs, light and heavy trucks.
Posted by: Harvey D. | 16 November 2006 at 07:31 AM
I'm with you Harvey, but I wish they would hurry up. These things always seem to take years before they really become mainstream, even though this is an established and proven technology for the most part. When will they release this technology for the general public to purchase??? A year and a half ago almost they told me on the phone they would consider releasing it to the public in a year's time.
Posted by: John W. | 16 November 2006 at 07:55 AM
Yes, every car should have an ISA. This would also open the door on 42V support and make life much easier for the engineers dealing with power budgets on cars.
Posted by: Patrick | 16 November 2006 at 08:39 AM
AM General gets some of their parts from Allison, Delphi, and GM. Perhaps this is a way for GM to get back into military procurement of combat systems, and not just base support.
Posted by: allen_Z | 16 November 2006 at 11:56 AM
Excellent use of Army R & D funds.
Yes, but the other angle to look at this from is to ask why do we spend only 1/20th as much US federal R&D money on oil dependence solutions as we spend on military R&D, at a time when oil dependence is the primary central front on the war on terror?
You see several examples of the military getting out ahead of the mainstream industries on oil dependence solutions. I think right now if you're a progressive solutions provider company and you need an early customer or research boost to get going, you tend to look to the military because nobody else's checkbook is open. And while the applications make perfect sense on their own merits, and the military people are supposed to be "apolitical", I'm sure they are not forgetting about their buddies who died because of this oil barron policy environment.
Posted by: P Schager | 16 November 2006 at 03:22 PM
More of your tax money to waste.
This Raser company is a bunch of hype with no product or novel technology. They have a bunch of con artists running the company and convincing everyone to spend money. Google them and find for yourself
42V ISAD's are available from several suppliers in the automotive world.
Posted by: Nick | 17 November 2006 at 02:35 PM
We have had Meese and Wedtech, Cumminham and MZM and the list goes on. This is such a small amount that I think we need to focus on the $2B no bids to Halliburton and leave the obsessing about this alone.
Posted by: SJC | 19 November 2006 at 09:28 AM