Maxim sponsors OptaMotive electric vehicle team

19th May 2010

ES Admin

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Demonstrating its commitment to enabling innovation in the automotive market, Maxim Integrated Products (NASDAQ: MXIM) today announced that it is a Gold Level sponsor of OptaMotive, a Silicon Valley startup that is building an electric vehicle (EV) to compete for the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE, a $10 million competition to inspire a new generation of viable, super-efficient vehicles capable of achieving 100 MPGe (miles per gallon or its energy equivalent). With its electric vehicle, dubbed E.Rex, OptaMotive is striving to combine fun-to-drive performance (0-60 in less than 5 seconds) with energy efficiency of better than 150 MPGe.

In addition to financial support, Maxim is providing critical battery-management technology to optimize energy efficiency and control in E.Rex. Our strategy has been to select best-in-class off-the-shelf components, allowing us to focus on system optimization and integration, explained Mark Demers, an OptaMotive founder. Maxim's battery-management technology was an obvious choice for us. It allows us to shed weight and cost while optimizing the charge/discharge characteristics of our 96-cell battery pack. This has yielded incredible results in both driving performance and efficiency.

OptaMotive is using Maxim's 12-channel battery-monitoring IC (MAX11068*) to accurately track voltages in each cell within the noisy automotive environment. Maxim's patent-pending SMBus(TM)-laddered interface allows up to 31 MAX11068s to be connected in series to monitor as many as 372 cells. This approach eliminates the need for expensive, bulky isolation components between devices to minimize the size and cost of the battery-management system. Other Maxim solutions being considered include its ModelGauge(TM) family of fuel gauge ICs and its automotive LED drivers.

Maxim is pleased to be involved both financially and technically in this drive to improve transportation and the impact it has on the environment, commented Pirooz Parvarandeh, Maxim Group President and Chief Technology Officer. This project gives us real-world experience working with advanced battery-management systems in the next generation of electric vehicles.

One of the biggest technical challenges facing the EV market is reducing the size and cost of the battery system while also extending driving range, continued Parvarandeh. Partnering with companies such as OptaMotive enables Maxim to develop integrated, automotive-grade solutions that help designers overcome these obstacles. The Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE gives us a chance to put these solutions to the test.