Company Press Release
Tuesday September 1, 10:18 am Eastern Time
Satcon Technology Corporation's Beacon Power
Subsidiary Announces Agreement With ABB Electric
Systems Technology Institute
Beacon Power Also Announces Shipment Of First Of 14 Field Trial Units
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 1, 1998-- SatCon Technology Corporation(R) (Nasdaq NM: SATC -
news), today announced its Beacon Power Corporation subsidiary has signed an agreement with Asea Brown Boveri AG's
Electric Systems Technology Institute (ETI) a world-renowned power transmission and distribution laboratory. ABB will
evaluate Beacon's 20C1000 Cable/Telecom Flywheel System in its innovative power quality systems demonstration laboratory.
The agreement, along with the previously announced agreement with San Diego Gas and Electric, is part of 14 field trials with
leading cable television, telephone and wireless service providers and their suppliers.
The Company also announced that it has shipped the first of these field trial units to WinDBreak Cable, a Nebraska cable
television operator. The Company's unique, patented uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system will replace conventional, less
reliable lead-acid batteries to provide emergency power to WinDBreak's cable network in case of a commercial power outage.
''The first shipment, and subsequent installation of our patented flywheel energy-storage system, marks a significant milestone
for the Company. Furthermore, we believe the agreement with a technology leader such as ABB highlights the tremendous
potential for this technology,'' said William Stanton, President and CEO of Beacon Power Corporation.
David Eisenhaure, President and CEO of SatCon, noted, ''As part of SatCon's commercialization strategy, this system has
been under development at SatCon and its Beacon Power subsidiary for over two years. We are pleased that Beacon has
completed this field trial agreement and has shipped its first trial unit. We remain confident about the tremendous commercial
potential for this product within the cable TV, telecommunication and power quality markets, as well as its application within a
variety of other industries. ''
According to Bill Bauer, President and CEO of WinDBreak Cable, ''The cable television industry has long used batteries for
back-up power with unsatisfactory results. We believe that Beacon's Flywheel System can provide the same energy storage as
batteries but with significant advantages in reliability, performance and maintenance-free operation as well as offering reliable
remote monitoring. The system is also environmentally superior with none of the toxic materials such as lead and acid. Lead acid
batteries are the second largest polluters of our drinking water in the United States.''
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