SatCon Technology Corporation

SatCon Technology Corporation
Defunct
Industry Technology Semiconductor – Integrated Circuits
Founded 1985
Headquarters Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Key people

David B. Eisenhaure
( Chief Executive Officer, President, Director)

Michael C. Turmelle
( Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer)
Products Power conversion solutions, utility-ready solar PV system
Revenue $ 129.01M (2012.7.30)
Number of employees
 246 (2012.7.30)
Website www.satcon.com/en/home

Satcon Technology Corporation (est. 1985) is an energy and power company originally based in Cambridge, and later Boston, Massachusetts. Its markets include the utility, hybrid vehicle, ship building, industrial automation, semiconductor processing, and defense sectors.

Satcon filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code on October 17, 2012[1] and it announced to change to liquidate under Chapter 7 on February 7, 2013.[2] As part of the settlement Perfect Galaxy and Great Wall purchased the company's assets including all Satcon Intellectual Property and Patents.[3]

History

In 1985 SatCon Technology Corporation was founded by Dave Eisenhaure, formerly of MIT/Draper Laboratory, to develop, market, and sell products required by the world’s growing need for cleaner and lower-cost energy and power. In 1992 the company’s CEO Dave Eisenhaure and CFO Mike Turmelle took the company public on the Nasdaq exchange (NASDAQ:SATC). After the company became public, it acquired eight private companies and one public company. The two most notable of these acquisitions were the former Westinghouse Electric Vehicle Group, which was acquired from Northrup Grumman, and Inverpower, a public Canadian company. These acquisitions and the parent company were reorganized into a diverse organization with four plants in the U.S. and Canada. SatCon provided products and services to major international companies, including Chrysler, General Motors, Ford, Litton, Fuel Cell Energy, Applied Materials, as well as major divisions of the U.S. armed forces. SatCon also created Beacon Power as a separate public company to commercialize flywheel energy storage products. Products developed by SatCon have contributed to the advancement of the utility, hybrid vehicle, ship building, industrial automation, semiconductor processing, and defense markets. SatCon is particularly well known for its work in advanced electric drives; in the technology of inverters for smart grid and photovoltaic applications; and in the development of light-weight, high-power electronics, which contributed to the development of practical hybrid and electric vehicles.

In 1995 SatCon and Chrysler were awarded the Discover Award for innovation in automotive engineering. This award was granted for the development of the drivetrain for Chrysler’s Patriot Race Car. The Patriot Race Car was built as a testbed for a turbine-electric flywheel hybrid drive train with a maximum output of 750 horsepower. SatCon was the prime contractor, designing and manufacturing the drive train and developing the needed technologies for its implementation. SatCon and Chrysler were nominated for and ultimately selected from numerous candidates for this award by a committee of automotive experts assembled by Discover Magazine.

In 2003, SatCon introduced the first 100 KW PV inverter in a single cabinet, PowerGate, and in the next five years introduced the 225 KW, 500 KW, and 1 MW series Inverters that convert the direct current (DC) power into usable alternating (AC) power. In 2009 SatCon reorganized to focus exclusively on the PV market and between 2009-2011, SatCon introduced more product series, such as Prism, and Solstice. In 2012, the company introduced Equinox LC for the light commercial market. In 2013, Perfect Galaxy and Great Wall purchased the company's assets including all Satcon Intellectual Property and Patents.[3]

Products

The company mainly has three production lines: Solstice, a power harvesting and array management solution for utility-class power plants; Prism Platform, an integrated 1 or 1.25MW solution for utility-scale solar PV installations; Equinox, a power conversion solution for grid-connected electrical power. Other products include Equinox LC; PowerGate Plus; PV View Plus and Satcon Smart Combiner, monitoring service via Internet; Energy Equity Protection and Other Legacy Power Products (such as static disconnect switches).[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Satcon Technology files for bankruptcy".
  2. ↑ "Business Summary".
  3. 1 2 "Satcon's Sold Assets".
  4. ↑ "Company Full Description".
  • Gara, Tom (October 17, 2012). "Satcon Files For Bankruptcy, In A Tough Week For Clean Energy". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
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