QM Power/UMKC collaboration will boost KC’s Green Impact Zone, employment, national security and energy savings
New magnetic circuit technology is about to revolutionize the way manufacturers and customers design and use electric motors, generators and actuators – providing more efficiency, power density and reliability while helping consumers save money and minimize their carbon footprints. And this month, Kansas City’s Green Impact Zone will become home to ongoing research and development between QM Power, Inc. and UMKC’s School of Computing and Engineering (SCE).
QM Power’s Clean Technology & Innovation Labs will open doors on April 8, at 4747 Troost, becoming the Green Impact Zone’s newest tenant. Proposed by U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, the Green Impact Zone is a cooperative effort to strengthen neighborhoods, create jobs and improve energy efficiency in a 150-block area of Kansas City. The zone is bounded by 39th Street on the north, 51st Street on the south, Troost Avenue on the west, and Prospect, 47th and Swope Parkway on the east.
“I’m very pleased to welcome QM Power, Inc. and the UMKC School of Computing and Engineering to the Green Impact Zone,” said U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, II, who proposed the Green Impact Zone project. “Their efforts will help transform the Green Impact Zone into a thriving, sustainable neighborhood that will serve as a national example.”
By collaborating to develop energy-efficient technology, SCE and QM Power hope to enrich Kansas City’s Green Impact Zone, create jobs, improve national security, dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save consumers more than $10 billion in annual energy costs. The six-person company employs three SCE alumni and plans to hire an additional 20 employees by the beginning of 2011. By 2013, Piper said the company will likely grow to 100 employees. Along with creating several highly-skilled, high-salaried jobs, QM Power plans to boost the Green Impact Zone by collaborating with the University of Missouri, corporate development partners, government agencies, national research labs, suppliers and customers.
“QM Power’s investment in innovative, game-changing clean technologies aligns well with Congressman Emanuel Cleaver’s Green Impact Zone,” said P.J. Piper, president and chief executive officer of QM Power. “We look forward to bringing the world’s most efficient and power dense electric motor, generator and actuator technology to Kansas City.”
QM Power’s proprietary and patented technologies are enabling new transformational cost advantages and performance capabilities for electrical motors, generators and actuators. For example, QM Power’s unique magnetic circuit and design allows it to remove 70 percent or more of the weight of a direct drive permanent magnet generator for wind turbine applications. As a result, it was the only generator chosen from more than a thousand proposals to receive funding under the “20 Percent Wind by 2030: Overcoming the Challenges” through the Department of Energy’s Wind Program.
In HVAC, refrigeration and appliance applications, QM Power’s unique permanent magnet synchronous solution is quadrupling the efficiency of the incumbent designs while maintaining the initial costs.
QM Power also is working with the Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation and NASA to enable new levels of performance for robotics and electric vehicle applications, significantly enhancing the power and range of battery-powered devices. Anywhere there is motion there is likely to be an electric motor, generator or actuator. There are more than $1 trillion worth of electromechanical devices in operation today, consuming more than $1 trillion (or 60 percent) of all electricity generated. As a result, the improved efficiency and cost of QM Power’s electric motors, generators and actuators will have a tremendous economic impact.
Piper estimates QM Power’s technology – when taking into account savings from efficiency improvements in power generation, transportation, climate control and appliances – could decrease the average household’s energy costs by more than 30 percent and eliminate the need for new coal-fired electrical plants. The company is working with its development partners to create custom prototypes and conduct field trials on a variety of applications and is focusing on the commercialization of the technology in select applications throughout the course of 2010 and 2011. Because most motors, generators and/or actuators are incorporated into other end products or systems by their development partners, QM Power expects the technology will become widely available in those products in 2012 and beyond.
“The challenge of finding the energy we need – for the military and in our everyday lives – will only continue to grow,” said Sen. Kit Bond. “Companies like QM Power are conducting cutting-edge research to solve our problems affordably and create high-paying jobs in our communities.”
In addition to providing job prospects, QM Power has provided SCE faculty and students with research experience. SCE has assisted QM Power with controller, power electronics, wind turbine, medical robotics and cryogenic development projects. Eventually, QM Power plans to collaborate with the entire University of Missouri System.
UMKC’s School of Computing and Engineering will continue to benefit from its relationship with QM Power. SCE faculty, graduate and undergraduate students and alumni have worked closely with QM Power researchers to develop components that make this technology commercially viable.
“Cutting-edge research opportunities with companies like QM Power enhance SCE’s ability to offer students an education that includes state-of-the-art science, research and entrepreneurial opportunities,” said Kevin Truman, Ph.D., dean of the UMKC School of Computing and Engineering. “This type of education will prepare students for the development of the next generation of emerging technologies and products, which will make an economic difference in Kansas City while improving energy efficiency across the world.”
About QM Power, Inc.
QM Power was founded in 2006 to commercialize proprietary and patented advances in low cost, high performance electric motor, generator and actuator technologies that promote economic, environmental, national security and community advancement. Parallel Path Magnetic Technology (PPMT) was one of its first breakthrough technologies that uses permanent magnets in a novel yet simple and efficient magnetic circuit design that can substantially reduce cost and improve performance for almost any electro-mechanical application. QM Power products have higher power density and reliability, run cooler, are much lighter, smaller and lower cost and operate far more efficiently over a wider power range than conventional/existing AC or DC electric motors, generators and actuators. QM Power is working with strategic industry leaders, entrepreneurs, universities and government agencies to demonstrate the improved efficiency and performance for wind and hydro power generation, commercial refrigeration and appliances, robotics, HVAC, linear actuators/pumps/clamps, industrial motors, military applications, power tools, electric or hybrid electric vehicles and a variety of other stand-alone applications.
About UMKC
The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), one of four University of Missouri campuses, is a public university serving more than 14,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. UMKC engages with the community and economy based on a four-part mission: life and health sciences; visual and performing arts; urban issues and education; and a vibrant learning and campus life experience.