Year in Review 2015 | Page 10

Member Spotlight Member Spotlight – Duryea Technologies Duryea Technologies’ mission is to maximize the energy efficiency of motor and generator-based applications. Products include brushless alternators, compressor drives for electric air conditioning, hydraulic pump drives and other hybrid electric technology for the fleet and consumer vehicles. The Duryea Electric Supercharger and MODE Power System for distributed energy projects are recent developments. Could you please tell us about your company? In 1996, Duryea Technologies was originally founded under the name “eCycle” with the objective of commercializing the world’s first hybrid and electric motorcycles. Initially intent on using an existing electric motor, nothing was available with sufficient power or efficiency, leading eCycle to design and build a proprietary high-performance motor/generator. Realizing the broader market potential if utilized in other applications, the resulting brushless motor technology became the innovative platform for all subsequent product development. eCycle incorporated transitioned to Duryea Technologies in 2015. Today, Duryea designs and manufacturers high-efficiency compressor drives, electric superchargers, hydraulic-pump drives and gensets employed across diverse markets from aerospace to renewable energy and is well established in the hybrid-electric truck, bus and work vehicle market. What are your connections to Sweden today? Duryea is currently providing a motor-based solution to one Swedish company. Why do you believe that Sweden would be a good market for Duryea? Duryea is introducing the MODE Power System, a genset for renewable biogas power as well as district heating/decentralized energy, which are non-solar options for sustainable and efficient electricity generation. Sweden is a good market for Duryea because of the country’s investment in biogas, as well as its Northern location, which makes solar power unfeasible during the winter. In addition to being used to generate electricity, refined and compressed biogas is also an alternative vehicle fuel. Duryea’s hybridelectric supercharger is well suited to drastically increasing the fuel efficiency and performance of biogas or natural gas powered cars. Duryea’s engineering team believes European vehicle manufacturers will integrate its electric supercharging technology at the manufacturing level for this purpose. Compared to the U.S., European nations have far more progressive energy and fuel policies that align with the Duryea mission. Product research and development is undertaken with the end goal of creating solutions that reduce dependence on fossil fuels and provide cleaner power generation. Despite the best of intentions, market adoption of energy-efficient technology only occurs when end-users achieve a favorable return on investment. The cost of fuel per liter and electricity per KWh is much higher in Europe than the United States. While Duryea’s domestic customers achieve remarkable energy and cost savings through better motor/generator efficiency, the return on investment for the company’s European customers is far more pronounced. How did you hear about SACC-Philadelphia? Company founder and CEO, Dan Sodomsky, met SACC-Philadelphia members at a tradeshow and was impressed with the organization. What are your expectations of being a member of SACC-Philadelphia? We are looking forward to attending SACC events and making new business connections with Swedish companies. Page 10