SPX Corp.'s Waukesha Electric Systems, Inc. business unit has been awarded a $10.7 million grant by the U.S. Department of Energy to develop and manufacture a smaller, more efficient superconducting transformer for electric utilities that will help enhance the flexibility and reliability of the nation's power grid. SPX's Waukesha Electric Systems and several grant participant companies intend to make $10.8 million in contributions to the project, bringing the total value to $21.5 million.

In this project, Waukesha would design a new superconducting transformer that is anticipated to be significantly smaller and weigh less than a conventional transformer. The superconducting transformer would help reduce power consumption through greater efficiency.

The Waukesha grant is part of a program announced in late November by DOE Secretary Steven Chu, which includes $620 million worth of funding for projects around the country to demonstrate advanced Smart Grid technologies and integrated systems that will help build a smarter, more efficient, more resilient electrical grid. In an official statement issued by the DOE, Secretary Chu commented, "These demonstration projects will further our knowledge and understanding of what works best and delivers the best results for the Smart Grid, setting the course for a modern grid that is critical to achieving our energy goals."

Working in conjunction with Southern California Edison, the University of Houston, SuperPower and Oak Ridge National Laboratories, after definitive agreements are executed for the development program, SPX's Waukesha Electric Systems would develop, build, test and install a 28 MVA, 69 kV fault current limiting superconducting transformer by the end of 2012. Southern California Edison would prepare the new transformer's site and install it within its smart grid located in Irvine, California.