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.