Hillcrest Energy Technologies Ltd (CSE:HEAT, OTCQB:HLRTF) told investors it is preparing for dynamic load bench demonstrations of the Hillcrest SiC traction inverter at Systematec GmbH's facility in Germany.
The company said it is currently completing the necessary preparations to test its 250-kilowatt, 800-volt SiC (silicon carbide) inverter with a motor of a European automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM). The high-power bench testing will commence in April and is expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter, it added.
Hillcrest said this demonstration phase will measure the impact of its Zero Voltage Switching (ZVS) technology on a dynamic load at much higher power levels than previously demonstrated. It will also show the ability of its inverter to integrate with any motor a customer plans to use in its powertrain.
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"Three months into 2023, we've made strong progress towards the development and commercialization milestones we outlined for the year. As anticipated, the second quarter is shaping up to be a pivotal time for the company,” Hillcrest chief commercialization officer James Bolen said in a statement.
"Our inverter prototype continues to meet or exceed expectations in demonstration testing under partial load,” he added. “These results provide the foundation for the next progressions in the testing process with customers who recognize the benefits of our ZVS technology.”
Hillcrest explained that the SiC traction inverter takes advantage of its proprietary ZVS technology platform, which has been demonstrated in lab tests and simulations to achieve substantial improvements in system-level efficiency, performance and reliability in electric systems, such as electric vehicles and stationary energy generation and storage systems. The Hillcrest SiC traction inverter is the first in a series of planned products currently in development, it added.
Upon successful completion of this stage of demonstration testing, it said the integration of the Hillcrest SiC inverter for full dynamic load testing is expected to take place at select customer facilities. These demonstrations, as well as anticipated subsequent in-vehicle demonstrations, are the expected catalysts for negotiating definitive commercial agreements.
The company said it will continue to provide updates as milestones are met and material events occur.
Hillcrest is a clean technology company developing transformative power conversion technologies and control system solutions for next-generation electrical systems.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com