FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas Power Electronics International Inc. has obtained $4.2 million in grants and research contracts from both the Department of Energy and the U.S. Army to further develop the company’s high-performance electronics over the next two years.
Ty McNutt, director of business development for Arkansas Power, said Wednesday that the technology company that specializes in highly efficient and tiny electronic components expects to add workers, particularly research engineers, because of the contracts and hopes to eventually begin manufacturing the products it develops.
Arkansas Power has a commercial 1o,000-square foot, International Organization for Standardization and aerospace-certified manufacturing facility at its headquarters in the Arkansas Research and Technology Park in Fayetteville, where it employs 44. Mc-Nutt said that when the company begins to manufacture the components it develops, Arkansas Power will add a wide variety of skilled jobs, such as production engineers and specialized equipment operators.
“We’re proud that an Arkansas-based technology business, such as ours, has the opportunity to have an impact on both the nation’s defense and security, while simultaneously helping advance green energy applications like electric vehicles,” Arkansas Power President and CEO Alex Lostetter said in a company release.
The $2 million Energy Department award given in September will cover a two-year period and focuses on developing advances to systems used in the Toyota Prius. McNutt said the company is developing an electronic switch action driver that is smaller, lighter and more efficient. The ability of the system to operate at high temperatures eliminates the need for a cooling system, and its smaller size allows the vehicle to be lighter.
The money comes from the department’s Vehicle Technologies P rog ram and was one of 38 projects awarded nationally as part of a $45 million program to reduce transportation costs and improve fuel efficiency, according to a release. The Vehicle Technologies Office’s long-term goal is to develop “leap frog” technologies that will provide greater freedom and energy security to Americans, while keeping costs low and reducing harm to the environment, according to its website.
Three years earlier, the company worked with the Energy Department to develop more efficient on-board battery chargers for the Prius.
A $1.5 million award from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory in early October for 18 months will be used to further develop high-voltage, silicon carbide power modules for use in advanced electronic systems, including defensive weapons systems. The technology allows electrical systems to operate faster and with more energy efficiency. The technology is both smaller and lighter, allowing some systems to be mounted on small vehicles such as a Humvee or larger tracked vehicles such as the Bradley Armored Fighting Vehicle. Arkansas Power does not know the end applications, but the gear could be used to help defeat improvised explosive devices or be used as a key component to reactive armor systems.
A year-long Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center grant for $707,000 was also given in early October for the company to develop a compact energy converter for use in military electrical grids and energy storage devices. McNutt said the device is small and energy efficient and can be mounted on vehicles so soldiers can, among other things, readily power laptops and devices they carry in the field.
Arkansas Power Electronics International was founded in 1997 and leases space as a corporate partner at the Arkansas Research and Technology Park in Fayetteville from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. The park has 36 affiliates, including nonprofits.
Business, Pages 23 on 12/02/2013