News Story

Honor for Hybrid Power System Inventor

Alex J. Severinsky

Alex Severinsky, the inventor of the hybrid power system used in the Toyota Prius and in other hybrid vehicles, is the 2008 Clark School Innovation Hall of Fame inductee. He will be honored at a special induction ceremony on October 30 at 4:30 p.m.

Severinsky developed the Hyperdrive power-amplified internal combustion engine power train, a unique successor technology to the conventional internal combustion engine power train, and founded PAICE Corporation to license Hyperdrive to hybrid vehicle manufacturers.

The Hyperdrive system utilizes a unique combination of existing technologies, along with inventive functionality, significantly improving performance versus cost of the powertrain.

Hyperdrive’s key innovation is in the use of an alternating current electrical subsystem, which offers significant performance advantages over conventional powertrains and other hybrid technologies, with average fuel economy improvements of greater than 50 percent at equivalent cost, broad applicability across chassis sizes and vehicle types, lower environmental impact, and ample power for all vehicle accessories.

The Hyperdrive system is utilized in the Toyota Prius, Camry, and several SUVs, and has made hybrid technology commercially viable and played a key role in moderating the increase in gasoline consumption.

Alex Severinsky contacted the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech) at the Clark School in 1986 and enrolled Viteq, a company that developed uninterruptable power supplies for computer systems, in Mtech’s Technology Assistance Program; in 1992 he enrolled PAICE Corporation, which licenses the Hyperdrive technology, in the same Mtech program.

He consulted with Clark School faculty members to develop and refine his ideas for Hyperdrive. He also lectured in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Clark School, delivering a course on innovation. Severinsky served as CEO and chairman of PAICE until 2006. He then founded Fuelcor LLC, an intellectual property development company focused on synthetic fuels, where he continues to serve as CEO. He holds 21 patents in the United States, with patent filings in other countries throughout Europe, Asiaand North and South America.

The Innovation Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held at the Jeong H. Kim Building (first floor). The ceremony will be followed by the 2008 Charles and Helen White Symposium on Innovation – "Intellectual Property: How Well Does the System Protect the Individual Innovator?"

Read the related press release online.

September 11, 2008