Other Applications

Fallbrook’s NuVinci^® technology is applicable to a wide range of products in a number of other major industries. These include: manufacturing and industrial equipment, robotics, lawn mowers and tractors, snowmobiles, motorcycles, heavy equipment among others. Perhaps one of the most exciting non-vehicle applications for the NuVinci CVP is in the area of wind energy.

Wind Energy

Making wind energy practical is a matter of maximizing efficiency and minimizing production cost. A variable speed wind turbine is the best way to accomplish this. It increases the amount of electricity generated by operating at higher efficiency in all wind conditions, and alleviates fatigue loads caused by gusts.

Outside of a wind turbine’s ideal speed, efficiency drops, and NuVinci technology solves the problems at higher and lower wind speeds. It can also shift quickly enough to capture gusts, a difficult situation for existing wind turbines. Fallbrook’s NuVinci technology offers a solution that can make wind energy a more viable alternative resource by reducing the cost of energy (COE) produced. The NuVinci CVP makes possible a low-cost variable speed wind turbine that increases power, replaces one stage of the speed increaser, and significantly reduces COE. According to a technical report produced by the National Renewable Energy Laboratories (NREL) and presented at the 2005 WindPower Conference and Exposition, NuVinci technology can potentially reduce the cost of energy by 5.5% or more.

NuVinci technology dramatically improves a wind turbine’s ability to capture gusts and vary rotor speed to optimize tip speed ratio at all velocities. It is the first smooth, seamless-shifting transmission capable of handling wind turbine torque levels that mechanically produces up to a 400% ratio range, with rapid shifting over an infinite number of gear ratios.

The NuVinci CVP drivetrain offers the advantages of variable speed power electronics (PE) at lower cost, higher ratio range, and potentially higher efficiency. Additionally, it enables the use of permanent magnet (PM) or squirrel cage induction generators, thus eliminating maintenance prone slip rings.

Key benefits of NuVinci technology for Wind include:

	Low-cost alternative to variable speed power electronics PE
	Smooth, seamless-shifting transmission that mechanically produces up to a 400% gear ratio range
	Captures gusts and varies rotor speed to optimize tip speed ratio at all velocities
	Increases power generation
	Significantly reduces cost of energy
	Enables use of PM or squirrel cage induction generators
	Eliminates maintenance prone slip rings

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