SatCon Technology receives fourth award from National Science Foundation, Small Business Innovative Research Program; SatCon awarded $75,000 to develop integrated bearing and motoring system for use in semiconductor manufacturing

Business Wire, March 13, 1996

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 13, 1996--SatCon Technology Corporation (NASDAQ: SATC), announced today that it has been awarded $75,000 by the National Science Foundation, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program to develop an integrated bearing and motoring system for use in semiconductor manufacturing.

"By design, SatCon's magnetic bearing and motor technology eliminates a wide range of material handling problems experienced in traditional integrated circuit manufacturing," said SatCon's president and chief executive officer, David Eisenhaure. "Our bearings are suspended magnetically, so there is virtually no wear. In addition, our system requires no lubrication so it lessens the risk of contamination of the wafers."

Eisenhaure continued, "SatCon is pleased to have been granted its fourth SBIR award in a month. We are even more excited about the commercial potential of these projects. For instance, this particular project will give us the opportunity to demonstrate that our combined magnetic bearing and motoring technology can be used cost-effectively to dramatically improve wafer handling throughout the entire semiconductor manufacturing process."

SatCon's other SBIR programs, each valued at $75,000, were announced on February 16, 1996 and include: (1) an award to research fatigue performance and failure modeling for high-speed composite flywheels, (2) a grant to research nonlinear modeling and control of Terfenol-D actuators, and (3) a program to manufacture micromechanical linear displacement sensors.

SatCon Technology Corporation designs, develops and manufactures "Active Motion Control" systems, advanced electric motors, high density power electronics and flywheel energy storage systems for a variety of commercial and government customers.

CONTACT: SatCon Technology Corp. or Sharon Merrill Assoc.

William O'Donnell Suzanne DuLong

Director, Corp. Comm. Account Executive

(617) 349-0846 (617) 262-1800