Cobasys Supplies Back-Up Power System for U.S. Steel Corporation

ORION, Mich., July 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Cobasys, a leading supplier of advanced integrated energy storage solutions, today announced it has installed its NiGUARD(R) back-up power system at U.S. Steel Corporation's Great Lakes Works steel manufacturing facility in River Rouge, MI. The NiGUARD battery system features Cobasys' advanced, proprietary Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) chemistry which offers a safe, environmentally-friendly alternative to traditional backup power batteries. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

The Great Lakes Works facility required a solution for their 24/7/365 uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems that supported the control center overseeing their blast furnace control systems and auxiliary sensors at the site. While a UPS backup system may typically provide 15 - minutes of emergency power, this U.S. Steel division felt they required additional time to ensure or eliminate costly problems with any furnace's sudden power outage.

After carefully weighing various alternatives, Great Lakes Works felt that the Cobasys NiGUARD system was clearly the superior product to accomplish the high level of backup power stability their facility required. The installation consisted of 12 - NiGUARD boxes, a battery circuit breaker and a computer data logger that monitors battery current, voltage and temperature. This provided an integrated energy storage system with three (3) - hours of backup power in the event of unexpected power outages.

The NiGUARD system's additional power also allowed Great Lakes Works ample time to complete a safe shutdown sequence of their furnace during unscheduled power interruptions. Front panel indicators were added to provide the customer with instant visual system status. In addition, the system allows remote monitoring via an Ethernet connection to the control center.

"Our NiGUARD energy storage system solutions are tailored to meet the needs of our customers because of their modular design, flexibility and advanced internal battery management design and controls," said Eric Johnson, Manager - Stationary Sales. "Using our advanced NiMH technology, Cobasys' systems offer high energy density, smaller footprint, long cycle life, minimal maintenance and lower total cost of ownership."

About Cobasys

Cobasys designs, manufactures and integrates advanced energy storage system solutions for transportation markets, including Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV), Electric Vehicles (EV) and 36/42 Volt applications, and stationary markets, including Back-Up power supply systems for Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), Telecom and Renewable Energy applications.

Cobasys is a joint venture between Chevron Technology Ventures LLC, a subsidiary of Chevron Corporation and Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. .

For more information about Cobasys, contact Ray Wagner at 248-620-5700 or visit our website at http://www.cobasys.com/.