SBIR Phase II: High-speed, precision wire plotting for electromechanical sensors and actuators

这一小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目的更广泛影响使可再生电力的生产和储存得以具有成本效益的扩大。到2050年，电力需求预计将增长80%或更多，智能电网技术的复合年增长率为20%，市场估计为35B美元。电网的一个重要元素是变压器，它是大规模车辆到电网技术的关键推动因素，是更多采用电动汽车所必需的。该项目提出了一种新的变压器制造技术，将降低电网基础设施的硬件成本，降低建设和许可成本，这可占总成本的85%。该小企业创新研究二期项目采用精密加法制造，使固态变压器能够用于下一代电网。通过在更高的频率下运行，固态变压器提供高功率密度的电力转换和电网服务，并降低硬件和项目成本。目前，固态变压器受到线绕电磁元件的阻碍，这些元件在高频下性能很差，而且生产成本很高。该项目将使新型设备的性能提高10倍。该项目将制作电力转换产品的技术示范原型和规模化翻译计划。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impacts of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project enables a cost-effective expansion of generation and storage of renewable electricity. Electricity demand is expected to grow by 80% or more by 2050, and smart grid technologies have a compound annual growth rate of 20% with a market estimated at $35 B. One important element of the grid is the transformer, a critical enabler of large scale vehicle-to-grid technology necessary for greater electric vehicle adoption. This project advances a new transformer manufacturing technology that will lower hardware costs of grid infrastructure and decrease construction and permitting costs, which can account for as much as 85% of total costs.This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project uses precision additive manufacturing to enable solid state transformers for the next-generation electric grid. By operating at higher frequencies, solid state transformers provide power conversion and grid services with high power density and lower hardware and project costs. Currently, solid state transformers are hampered by their wirewound electromagnetic components that perform poorly at high frequencies and are costly to produce. This project will enable new classes of devices with 10x improvements in performance. This project will produce technology demonstration prototypes of a power conversion product and plan for translation at scale.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.