New 3U VPX Single Board Computer from GE Improves Throughput While Reducing Thermal Footprint

Press release:

08 May 2012

New 3U VPX Single Board Computer from GE Improves Throughput While Reducing Thermal Footprint

 

• SBC325 takes advantage of new3rd Generation Intel® Core™ quad core processor technology
• x16 PCI Express® GPGPU connectivity allows development of High Performance Embedded Computing (HPEC) applications
• Cost-effective upgrade path for existing users

HUNTSVILLE, AL — May 8, 2012— GE Intelligent Platforms today announced a new rugged single board computer (SBC) based on the latest 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ quad core processor technology. The SBC325 brings substantially increased processing performance to customers using the 3U VPX form factor to develop and deploy demanding industrial and mil/aero applications such as command/control, ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance), radar/sonar and signal processing.

3rd Generation Intel Core processors not only offer enhanced performance per watt but can also maintain full performance at more elevated temperatures than the previous generation – offering an opportunity for the development of new capabilities in small form factor applications.

Provision of either a mezzanine XMC/PMC site for optimum flexibility and expandability or a quad fat-pipe (x16 PCI Express®) for highest performance connectivity to GPGPUs makes the SBC325 an exceptionally versatile platform suitable for a wide range of High Performance Embedded Computing (HPEC) applications.

“Many of our customers are working on demanding applications that are highly constrained in terms of size, weight and power – and the 3U VPX SBC325 provides an outstanding solution,” said Rod Rice, General Manager, Military & Aerospace Products, GE Intelligent Platforms. “The improved thermal performance of the new Intel processor helps to deliver improved response times and throughput and reduce the thermal footprint of a solution - or reduce the number of boards required in a system, minimizing its size and weight.”

The new OpenVPX platform – which is 100% compatible with the previous two generations in GE’s 3U VPXcel3 family - makes for a cost-effective, straightforward upgrade path for existing users.

The SBC325 is available in five build levels, from benign (air cooled) to fully rugged (conduction cooled) to provide customers with optimum price/performance.

The SBC325 is offered initially with the 2.1GHz Intel Core i7-3612QE processor featuring Intel Advanced Vector Extensions (Intel AVX), up to 8GBytes of DDR3 memory and a solid state disk drive of up to 32GBytes capacity. These enhanced capabilities are complemented by a broad range of I/O options including Gigabit Ethernet, SATA, USB and audio.

Supported operating systems include Windows® 7, Open Linux®, Wind River Linux and VxWorks®.

For more information, see: http://defense.ge-ip.com/products/3641
To download a data sheet, go to: http://defense.ge-ip.com/account/download/13183/3641
A high res image can be found at:www.genewscenter.com/imagelibrary/detail.asp?MediaDetailsID=4662

About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.

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GE Announces First Customer in Europe for Its LEAPmbr* Wastewater Treatment System near Messina, Italy

Press release:

08 May 2012

GE Announces First Customer in Europe for Its LEAPmbr* Wastewater Treatment System near Messina, Italy

 

• GE Technology to Reduce Energy Costs and Increase Productivity at ASI Messina Municipal Plant Near Messina, Sicily, Italy
• LEAPmbr* System Offers the Lowest Lifecycle Costs Available from Any MBR Technology and Delivers Environmental Benefits in a Seasonal Tourist Area
• Based on Industry-Standard GE ZeeWeed* High Performance, Rugged, Hollow-Fiber Membranes

MUNICH, GERMANY—May 8, 2012—GE (NYSE: GE) today announced atIFAT Entsorga 2012 that ASI Messina of Italy is the first customer in Europe for its high-performance LEAPmbr* membrane bioreactor (MBR) wastewater-treatment technology, which helps address water quality while reducing energy costs and increasing productivity. GE sold the technology to Costruzioni Dondi S.p.A., the Italian engineering, procurement and construction company that won the international public open tender for ASI Messina‘s wastewater plant upgrade.

“The ASI Messina plant will treat wastewater generated by two municipalities and by local industrial sites associated to the ASI Messina Consortium. By using GE’s LEAPmbr technology, ASI Messina will be able to reach the high effluent qualities imposed by the local authority and will have the possibilities to reuse the treated wastewater for industrial needs,” said Alessandro Rondina, technical director of Costruzioni Dondi S.p.A.

GE’s LEAPmbr technology helps owners of municipal, industrial and residential water/wastewater treatment facilities around the world address their pressing water quality issues, while also reducing energy costs and increasing overall productivity of the treatment system. The Italian region is facing a number of issues related to poor wastewater management, either due to lacking infrastructure or existing plants that are obsolete and not in compliance with European Union water directives.

When applied to the ASI Messina wastewater treatment plant, GE’s LEAPmbr ultrafiltration technology will control pollution and will help protect the environment through water reuse, coast preservation and low energy consumption. According to Alberto Dondi, CEO of Costruzioni Dondi S.p.A., “The ability of GE’s technology to reach high treatment levels in a very confined space while providing the lowest energy consumption among all advanced technologies today were key reasons that led to us selecting GE for this important project.”

The ASI Messina plant is an upgrade of an existing installation, located in Giammoro, approximately 35 kilometers from the city of Messina, the third largest city on the island of Sicily. The municipal wastewater generated by municipalities and industrial activities in the area will be treated biologically through GE’s advanced ultrafiltration technology, which results in high-treatment efficiency and the best effluent quality of any advanced technologies available today. The plant is located on the sea coast and will be discharging into the Mediterranean Sea and will serve as a high-quality water source for non-potable use by the industrial activities served by A.S.I. Messina. The new plant, once completed, will be able to treat a yearly average flow of 21 million liters per day (MLD), or 21,000 m³/d, with daily peaks up to 40,000 m³/d, which is equivalent to the daily water use of roughly 125,000 people.

“Governments and municipalities are looking into ways to reuse wastewater for not-potable purposes, particularly in places afflicted by droughts, like Southern Italy,” said Heiner Markhoff, president and CEO—water and process technologies for GE Power & Water. “Our LEAPmbr technology offers unique and advanced features to solve many of these issues through ultrafiltration membranes that are able to enhance the treatment capacity three-fold when compared to conventional technologies, while at the same time reaching high effluent standards at the lowest possible running costs.”

The result of a four-year development effort, GE’s LEAPmbr system offers the lowest lifecycle costs available from any MBR technology, while also being cost-competitive with conventional treatment. These cost savings, along with operational simplicity and a compact footprint, derive from innovations to the popular GE ZeeWeed* 500 MBR product line—the most widely-used, reinforced, hollow-fiber ultrafiltration technologies available. The cost and efficiency savings of GE’s LEAPmbr system compared to existing GE MBR technologies include:

• A minimum 30 percent reduction in energy costs.
• A 15 percent improvement in productivity (greater water-treatment capacity).
• A 50 percent reduction in membrane aeration equipment and controls, leading to a simpler design with lower construction, installation and maintenance costs.
• A 20 percent reduction in physical footprint leading to further reduced construction and installation costs as well as lower ongoing consumption of cleaning chemicals.

Under the terms of the ASI Messina wastewater treatment plant project, GE provided Costruzioni Dondi S.p.A. the total scope of the LEAPmbr filtration unit, which also includes a three-year service contract. GE’s equipment will be shipped in phases beginning in September 2012. Commercial operation is expected by the second quarter of 2013.

This installation in Italy will be the next step in a successful rollout for GE’s LEAPmbr technology. In October of 2011, GE announced the results of an ongoing, nearly two-year demonstration project in Marco Island, Fla., which proved the capability of LEAPmbr technology to reduce energy costs and increase productivity.

About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.

GE Energy works connecting people and ideas everywhere to create advanced technologies for powering a cleaner, more productive world. With more than 100,000 employees in over 100 countries, our diverse portfolio of product and service solutions and deep industry expertise help our customers solve their challenges locally. We serve the energy sector with technologies in such areas as natural gas, oil, coal and nuclear energy; wind, solar, biogas and water processing; energy management; and grid modernization. We also offer integrated solutions to serve energy- and water-intensive industries such as mining, metals, marine, petrochemical, food & beverage and unconventional fuels.

Follow GE Energy on Twitter @GE_Energy.

*Trademark of General Electric Company; may be registered in one or more countries.

News Release from GE - Lighting Revolution Tour

23 February 2012

GE’s Greatest Breakthroughs in Lighting Technology Hit the Road

 

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The 2012 GE Lighting Revolution Tour rolls out this week

EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio – Feb. 23, 2012 — (NYSE: GE)—GE Lighting is taking its energy-saving, cost-reducing lighting solutions on the road again with the 2012 GE Lighting Revolution Tour. This tradeshow on wheels is designed to give designers, distributors, architects, contractors, facility maintenance and utility executives a first-hand experience of GE’s latest innovations in lighting technology. This year, GE will be hosting commercial users and officials in nearly 50 cities, showcasing new advanced-technology products and solutions in areas ranging from architectural lighting to retail and outdoor lighting.

The tour kicks off in Miami, Fla. this week and concludes in Hendersonville, N.C. on September 20 after stops in 57 cities across North America. End-users are invited to join the revolution at www.gelightingrevolutiontour.comto learn about the tour stops and RSVP.

This year, on-board exhibits include products in-use, educational information and innovative solutions, all focused on helping lighting customers reduce energy. A new lighting-control solutions section highlights ways to make lighting operations easier to manage by adopting a low-maintenance control format. The latest floating, sleek and stylish 2X2 Lumination LED Edge light fixture will be suspended onsite, along with several new product lines including the GE ConstantColor™ CMH^® Integral PAR 38 lamps, a replacement option that is four times more energy efficient than the Halogen PAR 38 lamp which will soon be eliminated. Refrigerated display case lighting, outdoor signage, indoor LED solutions and more will be featured this year.

In addition to the opportunity to see the latest lighting technology first-hand, visitors will have direct access to onsite GE experts who will be available to analyze specific lighting application challenges and objectives.

“We are excited to spend another year on the road showcasing GE’s new and existing lighting technologies. With the new regulations taking effect, GE is setting higher efficiency standards for every platform, whether for retail customers or consumers at home,” says Jim Benson, GM of Professional Marketing, GE Lighting. “GE Lighting is offering this tour as a way to engage customers and educate them about the energy-saving, innovative solutions GE has to offer in this new era of lighting.”

The 2011 GE Lighting Revolution Tour reached 47 U.S. and Canadian cities last year hosting almost 10,000 total visitors over the course of 10 months.

“We’re looking forward to another year of educating people on the most recent lighting innovations and options through this year’s tour,” Benson says.