Industry News

August 2014
Riello UPS enters US market

Ed Kwiatkowski

Riello UPS, the fourth largest manufacturer of Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) in the world, has set its sights on growth in North America, and has hired industry veteran Ed Kwiatkowski as their Business Development Manager. Kwiatkowski, who is centrally located in Dayton, OH, is responsible for all sales an
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Date:
08/29/2014

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Assistant Secretary David Danielson together with thought leaders from manufacturing, universities, national laboratories, and government will summarize key developments and recent successes in driving innovation and competitiveness for clean energy products and
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Date:
08/29/2014
Crystal Solar and NREL team up to cut solar manufacturing costs

NREL researchers Harin Ullal, left, Steve Johnston, and Bhushan Sopori were part of the team that won the R&D 100 award with Crystal Solar

A faster, cheaper way to manufacture silicon solar cells, partially funded by the Energy Department and fine-tuned at its National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), has won a coveted R&D 100 award as one of the top technology innovations of 2013. Crystal Solar's approach to growing high-quality, high-effic
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Date:
08/28/2014
The Industry Sessions run in parallel with the technical sessions and have proven very popular. Speakers are invited to make a presentation only without submitting a formal paper. The target audience for these sessions differs from the engineers in typical technical sessions and may include system engineers/architects and
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Date:
08/28/2014
This fall engineers, designers, buyers and academics from around the globe will gather at the DE Stephens Convention Center for CWIEME Chicago, the Americas' largest dedicated exhibition for the coil winding, insulation and electrical manufacturing industries. Now in its 11th year, the show – happening September 30
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Date:
08/27/2014
Energy Storage North America (ESNA), an influential gathering of policy, technology and market leaders in energy storage, announced finalists for its 2014 annual Innovation Award, recognizing excellence in energy storage project development. The nine Innovation Award finalists represent excellence in installed en
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Date:
08/27/2014
The joint sponsors of the Applied Power Electronics Conference have announced the continuation of the popular $1,000 Student Attendance Travel Support program to cover part of the travel and conference expenses for up to 40 students to attend APEC 2015 in Charlotte, NC, March 15-19, 2015. Now in its 10th year
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Date:
08/25/2014
This release represents the definitive view of the agency on the questions addressed and may be relied upon by the regulated industry and members of the public. Guidance Type: Certification and CCMS, Test Procedures, Conservation Standards Category: All Product: All Product Sub-type: All Guidance Version: F
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Date:
08/25/2014
GaN Systems, a leading developer of gallium nitride power switching semiconductors, is showcasing its latest devices at EPE ’14 – ECCE Europe in Finland, August 26 – 28. The exhibition provides the first opportunity in Scandinavia for GaN Systems to present its two newest product lines – a series of fi
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Date:
08/25/2014
Formula E course cars to be equipped with Qualcomm wireless charging

FIA Formula E Championship course cars will be fitted with Qualcomm Halo wireless charging tech

The all-electric FIA Formula E Championship has confirmed that its course cars for the inaugural season will be fitted with Qualcomm Halo™ wireless charging technology – an inductive charging system which allows the car’s battery to be charged without the use of cables. With the final specification of car se
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Date:
08/22/2014
Those making or intending to make electric cars or their components have big strategy decisions ahead. These decisions must be made in the context of all car-like vehicles, whether homologated as cars or as something else. As the new IDTechEx report, "Hybrid and Pure Electric Cars 2014-2024: Technologies, Ma
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Date:
08/22/2014
Graphene electrodes are one of the best prospects for enabling supercapacitors and superbatteries to take up to half of the lithium-ion battery market in 15 years - amounting to tens of billions of dollars yearly. They may also be key to supercapacitors taking much of the multibillion dollar aluminium electrolytic ca
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Date:
08/21/2014
University of Michigan spin-off Sakti3 announced that it has produced a battery cell on fully scalable equipment with over 1100 Watt hours per liter (Wh/l) in volumetric energy density.  This translates to more than double the usage time in a wearable device like a smartwatch, from 3.5 h to more than 9 h.
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Date:
08/21/2014
There’s an old saying in the biofuels industry: “You can make anything from lignin except money.” But now, a new study may pave the way to challenging that adage. The study from the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) demonstrates a concept that provides opportunities for th
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Date:
08/21/2014
The Energy Department‘s Office of Indian Energy, Tribal Energy Program, and Western Area Power Administration will present a live webinar titled “Introduction to Facility and Community Scale Project Financing” on Wednesday, August 27, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The webinar will fo
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Date:
08/21/2014
Isola Group, a market leader in copper-clad laminates and dielectric prepreg materials used to fabricate advanced multilayer printed circuit boards (PCBs) and Holders Technology, an international distributor of materials, equipment, parts and services to the PCB industry, announced that registration is now open fo
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Date:
08/21/2014
The future of phone chargers: self-aware and integrated into everyday objects

Novel approaches can improve battery charging performance

Here's a horror story everyone can relate to: You download a cool new app or an OS update, only to find that it eats through the phone's battery relentlessly, frequently leaving you with nothing but a tiny sliver of red on the gauge. While some aim to solve this issue by developing a new breed of batteries, a Ca
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Date:
08/21/2014
Cirrus Logic announced that it has completed its acquisition of Wolfson Microelectronics. Cirrus Logic believes that the acquisition will strengthen its position as a market leader with a highly differentiated global customer base and end-to-end signal processing solutions, including integrated circuits and so
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Date:
08/21/2014
Energy Department reports highlight strength of U.S. wind energy industry

The U.S. continues to be a global leader in wind energy

The U.S. continues to be a global leader in wind energy, ranking second in installed capacity in the world, according to two reports released by the Department of Energy. Wind power is a key component of the nation’s all-of-the-above strategy to reduce carbon pollution, diversify our energy economy, and bring in
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Date:
08/20/2014
Quantum Materials announced the purchase of five diverse sets of patent families from Bayer Technology Services GmbH, the global technological backbone and major innovation driver for Bayer AG of Leverkusen, Germany. The patents acquired provide broad intellectual property protection for advances Quantum Materials ha
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Date:
08/20/2014
In recent years, the number of patent applications for electrochemical energy storage technologies has soared. According to a study by the Technische Universität München (TUM), the largest volume of applications by far is submitted by developers of lithium batteries. The study offers a first differentiated an
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Date:
08/20/2014
Editor's note: We were unable to obtain direct information from either party in this, but here is a comment from the previous CEO of International Rectifier on this action: "We are gratified to see that Infineon recognizes the excellent technology developed by International Rectifier.  Especially significant
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Date:
08/20/2014
Dialog Semiconductor, a provider of highly integrated power management, AC/DC, solid-state lighting, and Bluetooth Smart wireless technology, announced it has agreed to a joint collaboration with Energous Corporation (NASDAQ: WATT), the developer of WattUp™, a novel wire-free charging technology for electronic dev
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Date:
08/19/2014
Caltech’s Resnick Sustainability Institute has announced that nominations are open for the 2015 Resonate Awards. The awards are designed to bring attention to unheralded innovators with provocative ideas that contribute to long term sustainability. These include meeting the world’s energy needs sustainably, pr
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Date:
08/19/2014
APEC 2015 continues the long-standing tradition of addressing issues of immediate and long-term interest to the practicing power electronics engineer with outstanding technical content. The conference will be held at the Charlotte Convention Center, Charlotte, NC, March 15 - 19, 2015. The Industry Sessions
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Date:
08/19/2014
ABB, a leading power and automation technology group, has been awarded a contract by Atlantis Resources Limited to provide the onshore grid connection for Phase I of the MeyGen tidal stream project in Scotland’s Pentland Firth. The MeyGen tidal stream project is at the forefront of world marine energy development an
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Date:
08/18/2014
Among the more than a dozen bills North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed into law last week, one takes aim at so-called “patent trolls.” The “Abusive Patent Assertions Act,” an article within Senate Bill 648, attempts to “strike a balance” between the interests of the state’s businesses and econo
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Date:
08/18/2014
Renovo's e-supercar highlights Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance

The Renovo Coupe

Renovo Motors, makers of a high-performance all-electric supercar, announced the official debut of the Renovo Coupe at the 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The all-electric supercar rockets from 0-60 mph in just 3.4 seconds. After four years of secret engineering and development, Renovo is ready to reveal it
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Date:
08/18/2014
As part of the Obama Administration’s efforts to reduce dependence on foreign oil and transition to a clean energy economy, the Energy Department today announced more than $55 million for 31 new projects to accelerate research and development of critical vehicle technologies that will improve fuel efficiency an
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Date:
08/15/2014
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) announced that entries for the 2015 CES Innovation Awards will be accepted through Sept. 15, 2014. The 2015 Best of Innovation Honorees will be announced Nov. 11, 2014, at CES Unveiled New York and showcased at the 2015 International CES. Owned and produced by CEA, th
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Date:
08/14/2014
Dresser-Rand, a global supplier of environmentally friendly technology platforms in distributed power generation for the oil and gas, industrial, institutional, and commercial industries, will showcase its Guascor® biogas engines at the Green Expo Trade Fair at the Mexico World Trade Center in Mexico City. &nb
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Date:
08/14/2014
Smart electronic passports (ePassports) can fight terrorism and international crime by making it harder to forge travel documents—but can they overcome their most powerful enemies: political opposition and government red tape? IHS Technology research indicates that ePassports are set to experience relatively we
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Date:
08/14/2014
GaN Systems, a leading developer of gallium nitride power switching semiconductors, is showcasing its latest devices at EPE ’14 – ECCE Europe in Finland, August 26 – 28. The exhibition provides the first opportunity in Scandinavia for GaN Systems to present its two newest product lines – a series of fi
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Date:
08/14/2014
The Energy Department will present a live webinar titled "Increasing Renewable Energy with Hydrogen Storage and Fuel Cell Technologies" on Tuesday, August 19, from 12:00pm to 1:00pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The webinar will feature representatives from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) pr
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Date:
08/14/2014
NREL to commission the first CellCube vanadium flow energy storage system in the USA

CellCube vanadium flow energy storage system

American Vanadium announced that the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is currently commissioning the first CellCube vanadium flow energy storage system to arrive in North America. While there are more than 65 CellCube systems commercially installed globally, this will be
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Date:
08/14/2014
Several Indium experts will share their technical knowledge with attendees at the Surface Mount Technology Association’s International Conference and Exhibition (SMTAi) from Sept. 28-Oct. 2 in Rosemont, Ill. SMTA International is an annual technical conference and exhibition on electronics assembly and advanced pa
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Date:
08/14/2014
Learn the fundamentals of interpreting data from oil analysis during this interactive seminar that combines theoretical background with practical experience.   Highlights: Learn to analyze your reports Properly diagnose asset health based on your test data Find out how to get the most out of v
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Date:
08/13/2014
3D Systems announced that it has acquired American Precision Prototyping (APP) and sister company American Precision Machining (APM), both expert providers of rapid prototyping and advanced manufacturing, product development and engineering services, further extending its service bureau operations in the U
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Date:
08/13/2014
XJTAG to boost European business with shows in Germany and Switzerland

SINDEX Symposium

In partnership with European distributor FlowCAD, XJTAG will be attending the SINDEX Symposium in Switzerland and FED conference in Germany this September. FlowCAD and XJTAG are to exhibit at the SINDEX Symposium in Bern, Switzerland from Tuesday 2nd to Thursday 4th September. The event attracts over 400 exhib
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Date:
08/13/2014
The Professional Education Seminars at APEC 2015 address the need for in-depth discussion of important and complex power electronics topics. They are three-and-one-half hours (including breaks) in length, can range from broad to narrow in scope, and can vary from introductory to advanced in technical level and th
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Date:
08/12/2014
Convert PWM to 12-Bit accurate voltage outputs without software, ripple, or delay

LTC2645, a quad-channel 12-bit/10-bit/8-bit PWM-to-voltage output DAC

Linear Technology introduced the LTC2645, a quad-channel 12-bit/10-bit/8-bit PWM-to-voltage output digital-to-analog converter (DAC) with 10ppm/°C reference. These parts convert PWM input signals to 12-bit accurate, stable, buffered voltage outputs in less than 8µs, eliminating the ripple and delay typically assoc
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Date:
08/12/2014
Dr. John Glaser joins EPC as director of applications engineering

Dr. John Glaser

Efficient Power Conversion Corporation (EPC) is proud to announce that Dr. John Glaser has joined the EPC engineering team as Director, Applications Engineering. As a member of the EPC applications team, Dr. Glaser’s focus will be on designing lower loss and higher power density benchmark architectures and conve
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Date:
08/11/2014
Recognizing the rapid growth in energy storage market activity in California and Hawaii as well as the company’s continued growth, Greensmith announced the official opening of its California operating center in Emeryville, California at 6475 Christie Ave. Located in the Emeryville technology corridor near th
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Date:
08/11/2014
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced up to $14.5 million in funding for two USDA bioenergy programs made available through the 2014 Farm Bill. USDA's Rural Development (RD) announced it is accepting applications from companies seeking to offset the costs associated with converting fossil fuel systems to
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Date:
08/11/2014
Logic PD, a product innovation and realization company for connected devices, announced today that it will be showcasing its new Blueprint Framework for Wireless Device Integration and Wearable Device development at the M2M Evolution Conference & Expo, to be held August 12-14, 2014, at The Rio in Las Vegas (b
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Date:
08/11/2014
As discussed by Cymbet, a developer of solid state energy storage solution, in a white paper published in 2008, the number of smart devices connected to the internet exceeded the number of people on the earth. By 2020 it is estimated that this number could reach over 50 billion, although one needs to bear in mi
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Date:
08/08/2014
Energy Storage North America (ESNA), an influential gathering of policy, technology and market leaders in energy storage, announced that the 2014 Conference and Expo will offer the most comprehensive program ever put together on the topic. ESNA 2014 takes place September 30th to October 2nd, at the San Jose Co
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Date:
08/08/2014
Greensmith, a leader in grid-scale energy storage technologies announced it is on track to successfully integrate an additional 4 new battery types in 2014, bringing the company’s total since inception to 12 using its battery-agnostic technology platform, now in its fourth generation. With over 23mW of energy st
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Date:
08/08/2014
Stanford Team creates stable lithium anode

Stanford Professor Yi Cui

Engineers across the globe have been racing to design smaller, cheaper and more efficient rechargeable batteries to meet the power storage needs of everything from handheld gadgets to electric cars. In a paper published today in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, researchers at Stanford University report th
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Date:
08/07/2014
FuelCell Energy, a leader in the design, manufacture, operation and service of fuel cell power plants, identified New Haven, Connecticut as the second installation site for the previously announced 5.6 megawatt (MW) in projects purchased by The United Illuminating, a subsidiary of UIL Holdings. Information regarding th
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Date:
08/07/2014
Consumers Energy is taking steps to diversify its energy supply and help the environment by selecting four Michigan farms to produce renewable energy with anaerobic digesters. “We are excited to move forward with this new program to develop dependable, renewable energy produced here in our state for the M
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Date:
08/07/2014
Panasonic and Tesla Motors have signed an agreement that lays out their cooperation on the construction of a large-scale battery manufacturing plant in the United States, known as the Gigafactory. According to the agreement, Tesla will prepare, provide and manage the land, buildings and utilities. Panasonic
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Date:
08/06/2014
ABB, a leading power and automation technology group, is proud to announce it will host a free tour and half-day educational seminar showcasing the latest advancements and best practices for protection and control prior to the inaugural PAC World Americas conference. The PAC World Americas conference, to be hel
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Date:
08/06/2014
The Building Technologies Office (BTO) has awarded $6 million to fund projects that will: Measure current residential energy code compliance rate using a methodology that provides statewide results with 90% reliability. Implement an education, training, and outreach program designed to increase residential buildin
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Date:
08/06/2014
American Vanadium, an integrated energy storage company and the master sales agent in North America for GILDEMEISTER energy solution’s CellCube energy storage system, announced that CellCube vanadium flow energy storage systems are now included in HOMER Microgrid Software. HOMER is a software platform originally cr
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Date:
08/06/2014
AWS Electronics invests in future with apprenticeship program

AWS' two new apprentices have just started the four-year course

AWS, one of Europe’s leading specialist contract electronics manufacturers, has announced that it has just taken on a group of apprentices at its newly-expanded and upgraded Newcastle-under-Lyme manufacturing facility. Two new apprentices have just started the four-year course, which is being run by the company in
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Date:
08/06/2014
Geothermal energy is an affordable power source, according to an analysis of several government and private sector reports published in 2014. The Geothermal Energy Association released a paper titled “The Economic Costs and Benefits of Geothermal Power” that examines the public economic costs and benefits of
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Date:
08/05/2014
The U.S. Department of Energy, together with the American Public Power Association (APPA), recognized the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority (OMPA) and Silicon Valley Power (SVP) of Santa Clara, California, as the winners of the 2014 Public Power Wind Awards. The awards, presented at the APPA National Conferenc
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Date:
08/05/2014
Paniolo Power Company, a subsidiary of Parker Ranch, has announced plans for a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) from engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) providers for a pumped-storage hydroelectric (PSH) system on Parker Ranch lands. The RFQ process will open in September. This Request for Quali
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Date:
08/04/2014
Bel Fuse announced that it has closed the previously announced acquisition of the Emerson Network Power Connectivity Solutions (CS) business from Emerson (NYSE:EMR). Bel acquired the Connectivity Solutions business for approximately $98 million on a cash and debt‑free basis. The business had 2013 revenue of ap
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Date:
08/04/2014
Fire Phone hits sweet spot for hardware costs, but will Amazon's R&D investment pay off?

The preliminary BOM and manufacturing cost estimate of the Amazon Fire Phone

From a hardware perspective, the Fire Phone carries a bill of materials (BOM) low enough to allow Amazon to cut a profit for each smartphone sold. But with Amazon likely having sunk large amounts of money into developing the Fire Phone’s unique features, the company must sell large volumes to recoup its investment. The BOM of th
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Date:
08/04/2014
Analog Devices announced it has completed its acquisition of Hittite Microwave Corporation in an all-cash transaction at a purchase price of $78 per share, reflecting a total enterprise value of approximately $2 billion. “ADI’s portfolio now spans the entire frequency spectrum of RF, microwave, and milli
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Date:
08/04/2014
Keysight Technologies announced the electronic measurement business of Agilent Technologies has begun operating under the Keysight name. It will remain a wholly owned subsidiary of Agilent Technologies until early November when the separation is expected to be completed and Keysight begins trading on the NYSE un
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Date:
08/01/2014
ECOBAT Technologies, through Manbat, its specialist UK battery distribution subsidiary, announced that it has acquired PowerCell Industrial Battery Engineers, a leading industrial battery specialist based at Rayne in Essex that supplies and services batteries and chargers for all types of industrial applications. “This acquisiti
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Date:
08/01/2014
Mouser Electronics has unveiled a Communications Application Site to inform engineers and customers about the different types of applications within the communications sector. The new site gives all customers, in particular design engineers, the resources they need to learn more about new products, components an
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Date:
08/01/2014
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