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HRL to Develop an Efficient, High-Power Battery-to-Grid Charger for ARPA-E's ADEPT Program

MALIBU, Calif. September 27, 2010—HRL Laboratories, LLC, has received an award from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to develop fundamentally new, efficient, high-power Gallium Nitride (GaN) power chargers for electric vehicles. The effort is one of 43 cutting-edge research programs recently funded to dramatically improve the nation’s production and use of energy.

HRL will lead an industry team in designing, testing and manufacturing an innovative bi-directional battery-to-grid charger that provides efficient, cost-effective, interactive energy distribution between the grid and electric vehicles.

“GaN-based field effect transistors offer a unique combination of low switching losses and high power-handling capacity,” said Dr. Karim Boutros, HRL’s Manager for Energy Efficient Electronics and ADEPT program lead. “Combining GaN’s inherent performance advantages with innovative design and thermal management, we will develop a power converter that exceeds ADEPT program goals at a price that enables widespread commercial adoption.”

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HRL Laboratories, LLC, Malibu, California (www.hrl.com) is a corporate research-and-development laboratory owned by The Boeing Company and General Motors specializing in research into sensors and materials, information and systems sciences, applied electromagnetics, and microelectronics. HRL provides custom research and development and performs additional R&D contract services for its LLC member companies, the U.S. government, and other commercial companies.

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