Artemis Intelligent Power (AIP) is an engineering and R&D company based in
Edinburgh, Scotland
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
. It primarily manufactures
hydraulic machines and
transmissions that are based on high-speed
solenoid valves and
digital control
Digital control is a branch of control theory that uses digital computers to act as system controllers.
Depending on the requirements, a digital control system can take the form of a microcontroller to an ASIC to a standard desktop computer.
Sin ...
technology. The company is noted for developing its
digital displacement technology.
[Danish multi-national acquires majority shareholding in Artemis Intelligent Power; Insider]
/ref>
History
The company emerged from a University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
project initiated in 1994 by Win Rampen and Stephen Salter with a focus on producing high-tech machines to generate renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...
and reduce fuel consumption
A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...
of vehicles
A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), wate ...
. The UK Carbon Trust supported the research project splitting off into a fully operational company in its development of its hydraulic transmission system.
AIP stated that its digital displacement hydraulic pump (DDP) technology can deliver greater efficiency and productivity, particularly when applied to off-highway machines. The technology was first used to power wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...
s and increase their efficiency. It was a recipient of the Royal Academy of Engineering
The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering.
The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senior ...
’s MacRobert Award
The MacRobert Award is regarded as the leading prize recognising UK innovation in engineering by corporations. The winning team receives a gold medal and a cash sum of £50,000.
The annual award process begins with an invitation to companies to ...
for Innovation.[Artemis Intelligent Power awarded MacRobert Award; The Engineer]
One of the challenges that the technology addressed was wasted energy. Recently, AIP's hydraulic pump technology was adopted by the train operator ScotRail
ScotRail Trains Limited, trading as ScotRail ( gd, Rèile na h-Alba), is a Scottish train operating company that is publicly owned by Scottish Rail Holdings on behalf of the Scottish Government. It has been operating the ScotRail franchise a ...
, allowing its trains to save 9,000 liters of diesel
Diesel may refer to:
* Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression
* Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines
* Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...
per carriage every year. 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.
Acquisition
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the predecessor of Mitsubishi Mo ...
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.[MHI Acquires Artemis Intelligent Power, a UK Venture Company,
To Secure Unique Hydraulic Power Drive Technology; Mitsubishi Heavy Industries]
/ref>
In 2018, the Danish multinational company Danfoss acquired AIP. This created a joint venture with Mitsubishi. 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.[
Aside from its hydraulic system, AIP also holds several patents such as those involving high-capacity, high-speed, and digitally-controlled valves.][ AIP has partnered with other companies to develop projects such as infinitely variable hydraulic transmission systems and the hydraulic energy storage technology, including the world's first ]tidal energy
Tidal power or tidal energy is harnessed by converting energy from tides into useful forms of power, mainly electricity using various methods.
Although not yet widely used, tidal energy has the potential for future electricity generation. Ti ...
research center constructed by Babcock International and the University of Edinburgh.[World’s first tidal energy test centre to be built in Scotland; The Manufacturer]
/ref>
References
{{reflist
Manufacturing companies of Scotland
Engineering companies of Scotland