When Austrian Michael Walchofer and Canadian Melanie Turgeon skied to victory in the downhill event at the World Ski Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland last year, they did so with a little help from ABB.
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An ABB alternating current (AC) drive helped power the high performance, six-person FIS chair lift beside the Corviglia downhill course. So the skiers coming down so fast - around 130 kilometers per hour - got up the slopes smoothly and safely thanks to ABB technology.
"Our drives are used in some pretty interesting situations - including both industrial and consumer products that most people take for granted," says Pekka Tiitinen, senior vice president, ABB in Finland. "From building Mini cars to Hollywood movie productions and ski lifts, our drives help manufacturers get more from their investment in electrical energy."
Feeding energy back to the electrical system
The ABB drive in St. Moritz uses an IGBT Supply Unit (ISU) to provide four-quadrant operation, which saves energy by allowing excess power from a braking motor to be fed back into the electrical supply system. This also eliminates the need for space-consuming braking resistors, which would otherwise simply dissipate the braking energy, and increase the temperature of the ambient air.
As this year's ski season gets underway, skiers, hikers and snowboarders will be transported to the "Top of the World" at a maximum pace of 3,000 people per hour.
Other ABB technology on the slopes in St. Moritz: four more ACS600 drives, two snow canon drives and two water supply pumps. The FIS chair lift has been in operation since December 2002.