The lab, overseen by Dr. Kevin Bai, assistant professor of Electric and Computer Engineering at Kettering, features one post-doctoral fellow, one research scientist, one grad student and three undergrad students who are all working on four current contracts Kettering has with different companies.

• Bai is working with Magna E-Car to develop a power factor correction device and a 10 kW battery charger that will allow owners of PHEVs to charge their batteries faster and more efficiently.

  The most important thing during charging is the efficiency of the charger needs to be as high as possible. Using most of the present chargers as an example, the efficiency is around 91-92 percent. If we establish a 10 kilowatt charger, that means an 800 watt loss, which is too much for the charger. This charger will reach 97 or 98 percent efficiency, which means only a 200 or 300 watt loss and that will make the charger more efficient.

  —Kevin Bai

  Bai is also working with Magna to develop a power factor correction device.

• A project with Progressive Dynamics to improve the battery life of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) batteries.

• A project with Tenneco, a German company that is one of the world’s leading producers of emissions control products, entails designing an overdrive system based on a traditional 12 volt battery. The project seeks to control the supply of air by controlling the speed of the air pump through the battery.