April 7, 2015: DOE Announces $20 Million in Funding to Develop High-Efficiency Motors and Drives
Replacing Less Efficient Systems Could Help US Industry Save on Energy Costs and Improve Competitiveness
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced up to $20 million in available funding to spur the development of high-speed industrial motors and drives, using high power-density designs and integrated power electronics to increase efficiency.
DOE said the industrial sector consumes over a quarter of the electricity produced in the United States and is projected to increase its use by approximately 30 percent by 2040. Replacing less efficient systems that have fixed-speed motors and gearboxes with variable-speed direct-drive motor systems and incorporating recent power electronics advances, such as wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductors, could help U.S. industry save on energy costs and improve competitiveness. WBG components — which control or convert electrical energy into usable power — can operate at higher temperatures, voltages, and frequencies, and are more durable and reliable than silicon-based counterparts. In fact, DOE said, widely deploying these WBG system electronics could save 2 percent to 4 percent in industrial electricity consumption and billions of dollars.
DOE plans to select four to six projects, through its Next Generation Electric Machines: Megawatt Class Motors funding opportunity, that demonstrate the benefits of using WBG variable-speed drives. These projects are expected to target a 30 percent reduction in system losses and a 50 percent reduction in size for megawatt-scale motor and drive systems used in the chemical and petroleum refining industries, natural gas infrastructure, and general industrial applications like HVAC systems, refrigeration, and wastewater pumps. The selected teams will develop integrated motor drive system components including:
• Front end power processing units.
• Medium voltage class WBG semiconductor-based variable-speed drives.
• High speed motors that can be directly coupled to appropriate industrial loads.
To learn more about this funding opportunity, go to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Funding Opportunity Exchange.
Publication date: 4/6/2015
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