Artemis Intelligent Power

Artemis Intelligent Power (AIP) is an engineering and R&D company based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It primarily manufactures hydraulic machines and transmissions that are based on high-speed solenoid valves and digital control technology. The company is noted for developing its digital displacement technology.[1]

History

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The company emerged from a University of Edinburgh project initiated in 1994 by Win Rampen and Stephen Salter with a focus on producing high-tech machines to generate renewable energy and reduce fuel consumption of vehicles.[2][3] The UK Carbon Trust supported the research project splitting off into a fully operational company in its development of its hydraulic transmission system.[4]

AIP stated that its digital displacement hydraulic pump (DDP) technology can deliver greater efficiency and productivity, particularly when applied to off-highway machines.[5] The technology was first used to power wind turbines and increase their efficiency. It was a recipient of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s MacRobert Award for Innovation.[1][6][7]

One of the challenges that the technology addressed was wasted energy. Recently, AIP's hydraulic pump technology was adopted by the train operator ScotRail, allowing its trains to save 9,000 liters of diesel per carriage every year.[8] The company claimed that from 64 to 73 percent of a train's energy is lost during braking and transmission. The AIP hydraulic pump eliminated the incidence of wasted energy through its computer-controlled valves that turn off the pump's cylinders when unused.[9]

Acquisition

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Mitsubishi Heavy Industries acquired AIP in December 2010. It became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Japanese company through Mitsubishi Power Systems Europe (MPSE). MPSE targeted to build an offshore wind park project for a UK Government national initiative.[10]

In 2018, the Danish multinational company Danfoss acquired AIP. This created a joint venture with Mitsubishi.[11] Danfoss completely acquired Artemis Intelligent Power in 2021, effectively retiring the brand. Its products are now available in the market using the name Danfoss Digital Displacement.[1][12]

Aside from its hydraulic system, AIP also holds several patents such as those involving high-capacity, high-speed, and digitally-controlled valves.[10] AIP has partnered with other companies to develop projects such as infinitely variable hydraulic transmission systems and the hydraulic energy storage technology,[13] including the world's first tidal energy blade research center FastBlade constructed by Babcock International and the University of Edinburgh.[14][15]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Danish multi-national acquires majority shareholding in Artemis Intelligent Power; Insider; [1]
  2. ^ Marine energy project at Lasswade High School; The Edinburgh Reporter;
  3. ^ Cruz, Joao; Ocean Wave Energy: Current Status and Future Perspectives; Springer, p.245
  4. ^ Jamieson, Peter; Innovation in Wind Turbine Design; John Wiley & Sons, p. 146
  5. ^ Hydraulic Hybrid Multicopter Design Takes Flight; Machine Design;
  6. ^ Artemis Intelligent Power awarded MacRobert Award; The Engineer;
  7. ^ The promise of ocean wave power has enticed, and eluded, engineers for 40 years; Quartz; [2]
  8. ^ ScotRail trials Artemis fuel-saving technology on trains; Insider;
  9. ^ Artemis: new tech cuts fuel emissions on trains; Railway Technology;
  10. ^ a b MHI Acquires Artemis Intelligent Power, a UK Venture Company, To Secure Unique Hydraulic Power Drive Technology; Mitsubishi Heavy Industries; [3]
  11. ^ Danfoss completes full acquisition of Artemis Intelligent Power; IVT;
  12. ^ Danish firm to build new hydraulic plant in Loanhead; BBC;
  13. ^ UK House of Commons; Cars of the Future: Seventeenth Report of Session 2003-04, Volume 2; London; p. 150.
  14. ^ World’s first tidal energy test centre to be built in Scotland; The Manufacturer; [4]
  15. ^ Cuthill, Fergus; Steynor, Jeffrey; Lopez Dubon, Sergio; McCarthy, Eddie; Ó Brádaigh, Conchúr M. (5 September 2021). Development of the world’s first regenerative hydraulic tidal blade test centre: FASTBLADE. 14th European Wind and Tidal Energy Conference - Plymouth, United Kingdom.