SatCon Delivers 250-Kilowatt Power Conditioning Unit to Siemens

    CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Sept. 11, 2001--SatCon Technology Corporation(R) , a leader in power and energy management products, announced today that its Power Systems Canada unit shipped a 250-kilowatt power conversion system to Siemens Westinghouse for use in Siemens' Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC), which is aimed at the stationary distributed power generation market. SatCon also received an order from Siemens Westinghouse for two additional systems to be delivered by the end of 2001.
    The Siemens SOFC and SatCon's power conditioning system will be combined with a gas turbine to provide high efficiency energy at extremely low emission levels. The system will generate both electrical power and heat and is sized for applications in commercial buildings such as offices, malls, hospitals or industrial complexes.
    "We are continuing to make important strides in commercializing our technology into power conditioning and power conversion products to meet the growing demand for highly reliable electrical power," said David Eisenhaure, SatCon's president and chief executive officer. "Today's businesses have a need for "always-on" electrical power that just can't be delivered by the current electric utility grid and, like SatCon, Siemens is recognizing this need and offering solutions that provide more reliable and environmentally friendly electric power."
    The company also announced that it delivered a 250-kilowatt MegaVerter to Fuel Cell Energy in Danbury, CT. The system has been integrated into their test facility and is undergoing operational testing. Fuel Cell Energy manufactures molten carbonate fuel cells, which are also targeted at industrial and commercial applications.
    Driven by the communication and computational needs of today's economy, a new Digital Power market has been made possible by faster and more powerful Digital Power chips - the semiconductors that drive everything from high-speed computers and communications to industrial automation. It is used in automobiles, wireless base stations, routers, factory floors and data centers. It is digital, distributed and smart electricity. There are three basic elements of Digital Power systems: generation, storage and control. SatCon has primarily focused its proprietary product development on the control element, and has been developing and commercializing control systems and their semiconductor components and software since its inception. Today SatCon offers a variety of Digital Power products from controls and semiconductor components to complete power systems that meet the needs of the Digital Power marketplace.
    SatCon's Digital Power products include its PowerGate(TM) and MegaVerter(TM) power converters, GridLink(TM) utility interface, StarSine 250 kW and 2.0 MW MegaPower(TM) UPS systems and Inverpower power electronics and power quality systems. SatCon's systems range in applications up to 100 MW in power. SatCon Digital Power products also include high efficiency motors for industrial automation, RF (radio frequency) wireless communications devices and power chip components.
    The SOFC project is a venture between Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and Siemens Westinghouse, the provider of the SOFC technology, and is being undertaken at Kinectrics, a business unit of OPG. The development of specific advanced controls and power conversion equipment for the SOFC applications was partially funded by the National Research Council of Canada under the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP).