Parker SSD Drives participates with AES, providing grid tie inverters for 12 megawatt battery energy storage installation designed to improve electrical grid stability and efficiency in Chile.

Parker Hannifin Corporation (NYSE: PH), the global leader in motion and control technologies, today announced its first large scale, international installation of an inverter system designed to control the flow of electric current between the power grid and banks of storage batteries in an energy storage system. The company, through its SSD Drives Division, participated in a project to install a 12 megawatt energy storage system at a sub-station in the Atacama Desert, Chile, which is being managed by a subsidiary of AES Corporation, a Fortune 500 global power generation and distribution company.

"This power conversion technology is just one of a range of technologies we are bringing to bear in addressing some of the most pressing global challenges of our time," said Don Washkewicz, Chairman, President and CEO of Parker Hannifin. "Through application of our technology leadership in motion and control, such as the technology being applied in this ‘Smart Grid' example, Parker is establishing itself as a premier global partner in the world energy market for both traditional and renewable energy applications."

The installation combines Parker AC890PX inverters and a lithium-ion battery system from A123 Systems. The technology helps the local system operator manage fluctuations in demand for electricity and regulate frequency in a less expensive and yet more responsive and efficient manner than traditional approaches which might require an investment in increased power generation capacity. The system operates as a contingency reserve, meaning that it stores energy, maintaining a charge on the battery banks. When a dip in grid frequency is detected, the system immediately responds, injecting the stored energy back to the grid to compensate, therefore better using and regulating existing energy capacity. Battery storage systems such as the one used at this facility are becoming an important solution in balancing growing global demand for energy with a desire to deliver that energy in more carbon neutral, efficient and reliable manner.

"Our ability to provide technologies for utility scale energy storage gives us an important position in what is anticipated to be a rapidly expanding market," said Roger Sherrard, Group President, Automation for Parker Hannifin. "Energy markets more generally provide many relevant opportunities for us to apply our capabilities and have become an important aspect of our growth strategy within the Automation group and across groups within Parker. We are truly unique in our ability to bring a range of technologies to these applications."

Chris Shelton, President of AES Energy Storage, said, "Parker's modular, scalable inverter design was a great fit for this project, as it enabled us to size the system to our requirements without the hassle and long lead times of made-to-order components."

Parker AC890PX inverters have been used in several smaller installations in the United States and the modular design of this platform holds great promise not only in contributing to greater efficiency in traditional methods of power generation but also for use in converting the power generated by renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and wave to a form that may be supplied to the grid.

With annual sales exceeding $10 billion in fiscal year 2009, Parker Hannifin is the world's leading diversified manufacturer of motion and control technologies and systems, providing precision-engineered solutions for a wide variety of mobile, industrial and aerospace markets. The company employs approximately 52,000 people in 48 countries around the world. Parker has increased its annual dividends paid to shareholders for 53 consecutive years, among the top five longest-running dividend-increase records in the S&P 500 index. For more information, visit the company's web site at http://www.parker.com, or its investor information site at http://www.phstock.com.