“DC bus capacitors are a key component in the power managing electronics of hybrid and plug-in electric drive vehicles,” said SPS Director of Engineering and Project Leader, Dr. Shihai Zhang. “SPS EAP film capacitor technology will improve device reliability and reduce cost and size.”

DC capacitors are a critical component to power invertors, the technology that converts direct current to alternating current in electric drive vehicles (EDV). Today’s capacitors can occupy up to 35% of inverter volume, contribute to up 23% of the weight and add up to 25% on to cost. In addition to these handicaps, current commercial polypropylene (PP) film DC capacitors cannot reliably operate above 105ºC. EDV engine radiator coolant temperature can go up to 125ºC so a secondary cooling system is required. SPS EAP film has high temperature stability of greater than 140ºC. The commercialization of SPS EAP film technology eliminates the need for a secondary system, reduces material costs and enhances inverter reliability and performance.

The power inverter market is experiencing phenomenal growth. The market for DC bus film capacitors for hybrid and electric drive vehicle power inverters is projected to be over $1.6 billion by 2015. Due to compact size, competitive cost and high reliability SPS High Performance EAP film capacitors can be used in power inverters for wind turbine generators, grid-tied photovoltaics, and smart grids. Other commercial applications include pulsed power capacitors for medical cardiovascular defibrillators such as implantable and external automatic defibrillators, and capacitor banks for proton radiation systems that treat cancer.

“Nationally, the development of advanced high-temperature high energy density capacitors has been an active target,” said Ralph Russo, co-founder and CEO of SPS. “Our success will have broad impact on our country’s renewable energy industry. With this technology we’ll stay competitive and meet market demand.”

Please contact Dr. Shihai Zhang for further information on this project: szhang@strategicpolymers.com 

Project leader, Dr. Ailan Cheng said, “The grant will enable SPS to optimize its proprietary ECE material and develop proof-of-concept prototypes of early-stage refrigeration devices. Should SPS be able to fully commercialize the technology, it would represent a major paradigm shift in the landscape of the refrigeration industry.” 

Most conventional air conditioners and refrigerators achieve cooling through a mechanical vapor compression cycle (VCC) and hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants. These systems suffer low efficiency and emit strong greenhouse gases. The electrocaloric effect is the change in the entropy and temperature in a dielectric material induced by an applied voltage. Dr. Q. M. Zhang, SPS co-founder and Penn State University Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering, observed that certain polymer dielectrics exhibit giant ECE. The results of these experiments were published in Science magazine in August 2008. Since that time, his research team has made further development to the ECE materials that exhibit giant ECE at room temperature.

The SBIR/STTR grant demonstrates the significant promise of the ECE material in commercially viable, high-efficiency cooling devices that will be less harmful to the environment. It supplements a previous grant to SPS from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and shows the government’s commitment to new alternative approaches to energy efficiency that will lead to lower overall energy usage and the reduction of U.S. reliance on foreign energy sources.

“The commercial application of the ECE material covers a wide range of markets and applications, including building and automotive air conditioning, commercial and home refrigerators, and electronics cooling,” said Ralph Russo, co-founder and CEO of SPS.  With rising energy prices and ever-increasing concern for the environment, new technology such as higher-efficiency and environmentally friendly solid state cooling becomes a natural choice for future alternative energy solutions.”

Please contact Dr. Ailan Cheng for further information on this project: acheng@strategicpolymers.com 

Media Contact: pr@strategicpolymers.com

The grant will support the design and commercialization of SPS's revolutionary steerable cardiac mapping and ablation catheter technology, which is at the 'core' of the SPS cardiac ablation catheter. Mapping and ablation catheters are used to treat atrial fibrillation. This disease affects millions of people each year and given the costs associated with some of the more advanced robotic procedures, millions go untreated. The precise movement or micro-steerability of the SPS catheter uses computer-controlled precision to locate the catheter tip. This type of precision ensures greater success rates, reduces physician fatigue, and decreases procedure time. Current mechanical catheter technologies have a number of disadvantages that can be significantly improved by utilizing EAP technology.

“The BRDG-SPAN project fits our corporate mission of creating enabling technology to improve the quality of living,” said Ralph Russo, co-founder, president, and CEO of SPS. “The NIH financing will enable us to speed the commercialization of micro-steerable cardiac ablation and related catheters that will make life-saving medical procedures less expensive, less risky, and more accessible. The grant has opened the door for EAP technology to be used in a number of other catheter procedures, such as OB-GYN, G.I., and cranial applications, as well as enable advanced micro- steerability, reduced procedure times, and advanced automation capabilities.” SPS is collaborating with Hershey Medical Center to develop a fully commercial demonstration of an advanced electric micro-steerable mapping and ablation catheter using a new class of proprietary EAPs.

Please contact Dr. Dean Anderson for further information on this project: danderson@strategicpolymers.com

More than 1000 American die every single day due to sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), which claims more lives than breast cancer, AIDS, and lung cancer combined. The survival from SCA strongly depends on the early defibrillation and the probability of survival decreases by 7-10% for every minute of delay in defibrillation. In fact, less than 5% of patients with out-of-hospital SCA can survive to hospitalization. It has been found that automated external defibrillators (AED) can at least double the overall survival rate for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients.

In this Fast Track SBIR program (Phase I and Phase II), Strategic Polymer Sciences, Inc. (SPS) proposed to develop low-cost compact film capacitors with ultra-high electrical energy density for portable AED. The advanced capacitors will utilize the recent breakthrough dielectric materials discovered at Penn State University and the commercial-scale resin production and thin film processing technologies developed by SPS. For the same amount of delivered energy, the SPS capacitors will be 80% smaller and 50% cheaper than the current polypropylene (PP) AED capacitors. The advanced SPS film capacitors will shrink the size and reduce the cost of AED, facilitate the deployment of AED in millions of American homes and public buildings, and save thousands of patients with heart arrhythmia problem.

Their second grant was an NIH BRDG-SPAN (Biomedical Research, Development, and Growth to Spur the Acceleration of New Technologies) award for $2,192,113 (3 years) starts on June 4, 2010.  This grant was funded by Recovery Funds.  SPS proposed to develop an advanced electric micro-steerable mapping and ablation catheter using a new class of proprietary EAPs. The micro-steerable catheter can be controlled remotely with a computer and eliminate the X-Ray radiation exposure of the physician/staff during the procedure. This revolutionary design can replace current steerable cardiac mapping and ablation catheters by offering robotic level precision and control in steering. The success of this project will benefit millions of American who are suffering from cardiac arrhythmias, particularly those with atrial fibrillation. This is a multidisciplinary topic and it involves polymer material science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and biomedical devices.

As part of the tradeshow SPS gave away an Apple iPad to Drs. Ir. C.J.J. de Wit (left) from Reelektronika and former Vishay Executive.  The iPad was presented by Ralph Russo, President and CEO of SPS (right).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, April 26, 2010

CONTACT: TINA KREISHER, 202-225-5121