| Updated 5/15/2000 - Energy Conversion Devices (ENER) owns patents on several technologies that will become part of our everyday lives, Nickel Metal Hydride batteries, solid hydrogen storage, thin-film amorphous solar cells, the phase change material used in DVD and CD rewritable disks, and Ovonic Unified Memory (OUM).
OUM utilizes a proprietary phase change chalcogenide alloy to store non-volatile information economically and with excellent solid state memory properties. A computer utilizing OUM could be turned off, then turned back on immediately, or 10 years later, and start right up where one left off. These OUM computers would not be subject to critical data loss when the system hangs up or when power is abruptly lost as are present day computers using DRAM a/o SRAM.
With instant on operation, OUM computer users would not have to wait for the system to boot up and reload DRAM. OUM requires fewer steps in an IC manufacturing process resulting in reduced cycle times, fewer defects, and greater manufacturing flexibility. The operating speed of OUM memory technology is similar to DRAM and many orders of magnitude faster than Flash write. Also, unlike conventional Flash memory, OUM memory is randomly accessible for memory addressing. Further, Flash memory wears out (fails) after 100,000 write cycles, while the OUM memory state can be written greater than 10 trillion times, making this memory useful for program storage (Flash) as well as general purpose interactive (DRAM) data storage memory.
OUM has direct application in all products presently using solid state memory, including desktop, laptop, and palm computers, cell phones, graphics-3D rendering, GPS, video conferencing, multi-media, Internet networking and interfacing, entertainment, digital TV, telecom, PDA, digital voice recorders, modems, DVD, networking (ATM), Ethernet, and pagers. OUM offers a way to realize full system-on-a-chip capability through integrating unified memory, linear, and logic on the same silicon chip.
On 2/8/2000, Ovonyx, a joint venture between Energy Conversion Devices and Tyler Lowrey, former Chief Technical Officer and COO of Micron Technology, announced it has licensed its OUM memory technology to Intel and that the two companies will work together to develop and demonstrate the feasibility of high-density, non-volatile memory based on the technology. Intel has invested an undisclosed amount in Ovonyx.
On 11/4/1999 Ovonyx announced that it had entered into a royalty-bearing agreement with Lockheed Martin Space Electronics & Communications to commercialize the Ovonyx non-volatile semiconductor memory technology to replace Flash, DRAM, FPGA and other electronic devices in radiation hardened space and military applications.
ECD's Nickel Metal Hydride batteries are quickly replacing Nickel Cadmium in many consumer products such as cell phones and camcorders. They don't have the memory effect problem associated with NiCads, while having a greater energy storage capacity, are non-toxic, and don't have the inherent potential fire hazard of Lithium based batteries. Already, over 750 million NiMh cells are made per year, putting it almost on par with the volume of NiCads, whose days are numbered. ECD has signed license agreements with many major battery companies, and receives royalties from them.
On Oct. 10, 2000, Texaco agreed to acquire GM's share of a joint venture formerly known as GM Ovonic, that had developed an advanced battery technology for the automotive market. Texaco Ovonic plans to expand the applications of the NiMH battery to include hybrid electric vehicle and fuel cell electric vehicle batteries as well as starter, lighting and ignition batteries, including the important new 36-42 volt applications. Non-automotive applications are also planned. NiMH car batteries have more than double the storage capacity of lead acid.
ECD also has developed a proprietary solid hydrogen storage system to provide the fuel cell industry with an alternative to the on-board reforming of natural gas or methanol to obtain hydrogen for hybrid cars. It is an enabling technology that may help speed the transition to hydrogen fuels. Hydrogen, often referred to as the ultimate fuel, contains no carbon and emits no pollution, with water vapor being its only byproduct. Almost unbelievably, a 1 liter propietary Ovonic hydride cannister will safely store, in a solid state, 40% more than a 1 liter bottle of liquid hydrogen. On May 2, 2000 Texaco purchased a 20 percent equity stake in ECD for $67.3 million. On Oct. 31, 2000, Texaco Energy Systems Inc.(TESI) and ECD announced the formation of Texaco Ovonic Hydrogen Systems L.L.C., a 50-50 joint venture to further develop and advance the commercialization of ECDs technology to store hydrogen in metal hydrides.
Also, on Sept. 21, 2000, Texaco and ECD announced the formation of Texaco Ovonic Fuel Cell Company, L.L.C., a 50-50 joint venture to further develop and advance the commercialization of the Ovonic Regenerative Fuel Cell. ECDs unique, low-cost, proprietary non-noble metal catalyst materials technology gives the Ovonic Regenerative Fuel Cell significantly superior performance, higher efficiency, and lower costs compared to other technologies, such as Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells.
Texaco and Chevron agreed to merge in Oct. 2000. Chevron has expressed its strong support and excitement to be working with ECD. ChevronTexaco will aggressively pursue the commercialization of all ECD energy technologies, including the Texaco Ovonic Fuel Cell.
On Jan. 5, 2000 Panasonic announced that it will market its first DVD video recorder, model VDR- 10000. The long-awaited DVD-RAM recorder allows consumers to digitally record video on DVD-RAM discs. When connected to home theater components, the Panasonic VDR-10000 enables consumers to enjoy playback of multiple digital entertainment formats. Boasting extraordinary picture quality, multi disc (DVD/CD) playback capability, digital recording and random-access capability, the VDR-10000 is the ultimate high-end audio/video home entertainment product. The Panasonic VDR-10000 uses as its recording medium the newly developed 4.7GB high-capacity DVD-RAM optical disc, model VDR-HB47, which supports real- time MPEG2 compressed video recording. A single-sided 4.7GB DVD-RAM disc can record 2 hours of high-quality motion video in the SP mode and maximum 4 hours recording in the LP mode.
DVD+RW CD+RW and the DVD video recorders all use ECD's phase change discs. Every disc sold will generate royalties for ECD. On 3/15/2000, GE Plastics, a unit of General Electric Company, and ECD announced that they have formed a joint venture to design, develop, demonstrate and commercialize continuous web roll-to-roll technology for the ultra-high-speed manufacture of optical media products ?
primarily rewritable DVDs. The products incorporate and advance both ECD?s phase change and GE?s optical quality polycarbonate materials.
ECD has developed a continuous roll process of manufacturing solar cells. The amorphous silicon is deposited on a continuous roll of stainless steel in a vacuum machine also developed by ECD. The company believes their continuous roll manufacturing process is inherently cheaper than the batch process implicit in single crystal silicon PV manufacture. ECD is also able to deposit the silicon on a lightweight, flexible substrate that can be unrolled like a window shade for satellite use. A test solar array was successfully tested on the Mir Space Station. On April 24, 2000, ECD announced that it was awarded a new $750,000 two-year cost-sharing contract by the U.S. Air Force to further advance its proprietary photovoltaic (PV) space technology.
On April 4, 2000, ECD and N.V. Bekaert S.A. announced a strategic alliance in the field of photovoltaic (solar) products. The joint venture entails an investment by Bekaert in a new manufacturing plant with an annual capacity of 25 megawatts (MW) to be designed and built by ECD, and a sales and marketing expansion program, at a total cost of $84 million.
On Jan. 18, 2000, Southwall Technologies Inc. and ECD jointly announced plans to ship a new high-speed deposition production machine to Southwall's Tempe, AZ plant where it will supply product for the fast growing antireflective (AR) film market for cathode ray tubes (CRTs) and liquid crystal displays (LCDs).
Stan Ovshinsky, the founder of Energy Conversion Devices, has been called by some as one of the greatest inventors of our century. Any one of these technologies that he invented has the potential to generate huge revenues.
More information can be found at ECD's web site, ovonic.com |
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