TPL, Inc. is Awarded Contract by NSWC/Crane
December 2006
TPL, Inc. is awarded a contract by NSWC/Crane to begin the construction of the Magnesium Recovery Facility at the Crane Army Ammunition Activity, Crane, IN. Completion is projected for Summer 2008.
TPL, Inc. Awarded SBIR Phase I from NASA
November 2006
TPL, Inc. has sold its San Diego based TPL Microelectronics, Inc.’s (TMI) assets to American Function Materials, Inc. (AFM) located in Alhambra, CA. AFM will continue with the same personnel, equipment and processes as TMI employed. AFM will continue to produce the same product line as TMI and add additional products to its business. For further information please contact either Trista Mosman of TMI or William Liang of AFM.
TPL, Inc. Awarded SBIR Phase I from DOD Army Tantalum Lined Wall Breaching System
October 2006
TPL, Inc. was awarded a Phase I contract from the Army DOD to develop a safer, quicker wall breaching system. Modern urban fighting frequently requires the breaching of thick concrete, rebar reinforced walls to provide passageways for soldiers to advance through. The current Army procedure is to utilize blocks of C-4 explosive which is reasonably successful in fracturing and dispersing the concrete portion of the target however usually leaves the re-bar in place exposing one or more soldiers to harms way as they manually cut through the rebar. This 3 step operation - emplacement, detonation, and rebar cutting is inefficient and dangerous.
The long term goal of TPL, Inc. is to provide the US Army with a man portable, wall breaching system whose operation will be a simple two step operation - mount, detonate, and advance. This will be far less dangerous than the method currently in use.
Supercapacitor Project Brings Together Private Industry & New Mexico Based Researchers
August 2006
A new project funded by the New Mexico state legislature through the Technology Research Collaborative will be looking for a better power supply for wireless sensors. The project is collaboration involving the University of New Mexico , Sandia National Laboratories and TPL, a New Mexico company.
It works this way. Using the money from the 198-thousand dollar grant, a UNM doctoral candidate, Lewis Tribby will spend the next year working in a laboratory supervised by Tim Boyle, an inorganic chemist in the Materials Processing Department of Sandia. Tribby will be trying to synthesize material that will increase the efficiency of the supercapacitors now marketed by TPL.
Tribby is mentored by Sang Han, an associate professor of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering at UNM. As he completes the initial part of the project, he will move back to a UNM lab for a second phase of materials processing. If all goes as planned, by the end of the year Tribby will have a product TPL can begin testing.
Han says the technical goal is very aggressive, but he is hopeful at least the fundamental materials synthesis and processing will be complete within the year. Charles Lakeman, Vice President of Micropower Systems Division says the improved supercapacitors will find applications in power supplies for wireless sensors used to monitor the structural health of aircraft and bridges, and control oil refining and power generation equipment.
One of the goals of the Technology Research Collaborative is to find a way New Mexicans can use resources located within the state to train students and develop products for commercial applications. This project is an opportunity to realize that goal.
TPL, Inc. Awarded NSF Phase I Proposal
May 2006
TPL Micropower Systems Division has been awarded a NSF Phase I Proposal titled “Functionalized PolySiloxanes for Improved Low Temperature Supercapacitor Performance” in the amount of $100,000 for 9 months. TPL, Inc. proposes to develop a functionalized polysiloxane-based electrolyte system for electrochemical capacitors, or supercapacitors, that has high conductivity at low temperatures and provides high power density over the entire temperature range (-55 to 95oC) while maintaining a low cost. Our new electrolyte formulation answers the need for high power density energy storage for hybrid power systems with applications ranging from electric vehicles to wireless sensor networks. Supercapacitors built using this electrolyte will have enhanced low temperature performance, decreased self-discharge rates, and increased lifetime (>150,000 cycles). The flexible siloxane polymer backbone along with the functional groups will enable high ionic conductivity at low temperature with reduced volatility. Our functionalized polysiloxane answers the need to supply high power density energy storage with improved low temperature performance, reduced toxicity and flammability, and reduced cost.
TPL MicroPower to Present at InKnowVation Venture Capital Symposium
February 2006
TPL MicroPower Technologies group has been selected to present at the InKnowVation SBIR venture capital event in Boston, Massachusetts, March 16-17, 2006 . The purpose of this event to provide the structured setting in which pre-qualified, Venture Capital-seeking SBIR Awardees can interact with various interested investors. Participating investors will represent established VC Funds, Corporate VC entities and a few organized Angel Investors. Most have been already involved with SBIR-active firms and/or have expressed serious interest in making these types of investments.
TPL MicroPower Technologies group designs, develops and manufactures innovative power systems for wireless sensors. TPL MicroPower originally manufactured the smallest commercially available batteries and supercapacitors for use in low cost disposable systems. TPL MicroPower now combines these novel energy storage devices with energy harvesting devices to provide "Endless Power for Wireless Systems". TPL MicroPower has been funded by several SBIR Phase I and Phase II contracts from the following agencies: Air Force, Navy, DARPA, NSF, NASA and DOE.
Rep. Heather Wilson Secures $1.5 Mil for Continued Technology Development
January 2006
January 5, 2006 -- U.S. Congresswoman Heather Wilson visited TPL, Inc. today and announced that she has secured $1.5 million in defense funding that will help deploy TPL's high-tech energy capacitors on the battle field and on U.S. Navy ships. The funds are part of the $391 billion Defense Appropriations Act signed by President George Bush last week. Under the appropriation, TPL will provide power supply components to the Navy for a prototype rail gun- a device that uses a massive electrical charge to launch a projectile.
Wilson joined employees at TPL, Inc. and took a tour of the facility to see the technology first-hand. "This great, home-grown company has found a way to bottle lightning," says Wilson . "They need to get a lot of energy in a small space and then use that energy very quickly," she said. "The flash on your camera holds an electrical charge, and then outputs it all at once. TPL, Inc. has developed a capacitor similar to the one in your flash, but on a much larger scale and with the ability to power the next generation of military weapons." Wilson says a challenge the military faces in the field is providing the energy to power the next-generation of weapons. Capacitors that can provide the necessary energy are often too large for portable applications, like on an Army tank or a Navy ship.
TPL has developed small, high-energy capacitors, essentially temporary batteries in which a huge electrical charge is built up and released in an instant. "The needs from the American military for power will increase exponentially over the next 10 years," Wilson said.
TPL president and CEO Hap Stoller said the company would hire about four people to work on the project. If tests are successful, and such capacitors go into mass production, that manufacturing, which is now outsourced, could be brought here, where it would provide additional jobs, he said. "Our long-range objective is to bring all those (component manufacturers) into one central facility in New Mexico," he said. "We employ 55 people in New Mexico , and as we move forward with the manufacturing stage of this technology, we could grow much larger and employ more New Mexicans. Congresswoman Wilson understands the fact that our technology aids our national defense and the war on terror, and we appreciate her support."
There are several military uses for the high power density capacitors produced by TPL. But the first application that may result from TPL's work is in the form of "Rail Guns" on Navy battle ships. In practice, thousands of these fist-size capacitors would be located under a ship's gun, where they would, on command, instantly release millions of joules of electricity- an amount of energy comparable to a bolt of lightning.
The electromagnetic rail gun uses a magnetic field powered by electricity to accelerate a projectile up to 52,493 feet per second. And while current Navy guns have a maximum range of 12 miles, rail guns can hit a target 250 miles away in six minutes. The rail guns would be used as an alternative to current large artillery like those mounted on a Navy battleship, and have the advantage of not relying on traditional gun powder. Rail gun ammunition, in the form of small tungsten missiles, would be relatively light, easy to transport and easy to handle. And because of their high velocities, rail gun missiles would be less susceptible to bullet drop and wind shift than current artillery shells.
TPL, Inc. hopes their product, once fully developed, will provide enough energy in a small enough package to be used on a Navy Ship. Eventually these devices could be used for a larger variety of electric power needs, from heart defibrillators and hybrid vehicles to military computers and other weapons such as grenade launchers.
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