Power-One Expects Gains From Consortium Project

Camarillo-based Power-One Inc., the lead company in a consortium that will attempt to develop both commercial and defense applications for aerocapacitor energy storage devices, expects to develop new products and pick up increased revenues from the project within two years.

The team will search out so-called dual uses for the aerocapacitor, a high-density energy storage device, something like a battery, which can be used as a power supply in many applications, including electric vehicles. The device was originally developed as part of a defense project by another consortium member, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

“We’re excited about the possibilities,” said Dennis Roark, Power-One’s executive vice president. “Besides strengthening our own product line, we hope to help revitalize industries throughout the United States, particularly in California.”

The six-firm consortium, which includes Rockwell International’s corporate science center in Thousand Oaks, will receive a $1.9-million federal grant as part of the Clinton Administration’s defense conversion program.

Power-One, a privately held firm with annual sales of $50 million, produces power equipment for the industrial, telecommunications, data processing and medical markets.

The company has 1,000 employees--225 in Camarillo, and the rest in Mexico and Puerto Rico.