Dakota Power Technologies

Dakota Power, LLC, (DP) will use its patented drive system technology to respond to the priority needs identified by the Army for the development of electric drive systems and other applications requiring a wide range of power generation. The Dakota Power technology evolved through research and development by Dr. William Hughes that began in 2001. The goal of this was to develop a unique magnetic field design to improve the operation of electric motors and generators.

Research led to the fabrication of a new class of motors and generators demonstrating the use of the new magnetic field design. Subsequent development of efficient solid state polyphase switching circuits enabled the integration of the new generators and motors into proof of concept electric drive systems with the potential for the significant reduction in the weight and cost of vehicle drive systems. The evolution of the concepts and devices using the new magnetic field design provide the foundation for the DP technologies for electric drive systems.

The core of the DP technologies is a DC field to combine the best features of switched reluctance machines (SRM) and DC brushless machines. The magnetic field produced by the DC field coil is varied to control the speed and torque of motors and the output power of generators.