Mission: Paice has successfully developed hybrid technology that makes today’s fuel efficient, clean and cost-effective hybrid electric vehicles possible. Our mission is to further develop and share expertise about this hybrid technology and establish partnerships that support the continued growth of the hybrid vehicle market.

The Vision of Alex Severinsky: During the oil crisis of 1979, Alex Severinsky conceived the idea for a hybrid gasoline/electric car that could help reduce America’s dependence on oil. That vision eventually led Dr. Severinsky to form Paice (Power Assisted Internal Combustion Engines) in 1992 as part of a small company incubator program at the University of Maryland’s Clark School of Engineering. Later that year, he filed a patent application covering his concepts for a hybrid vehicle. Paice was issued U.S. Patent No. 5,343,970 (the ‘970 patent) in 1994.

The ‘970 Patent – A Breakthrough in Hybrid Technology: Hybrid electric vehicles increase fuel economy and reduce harmful emissions by combining an electric motor with the vehicle’s internal combustion engine. The ‘970 patent describes a hybrid vehicle with a microprocessor that receives control inputs and uses that information to determine whether the internal combustion engine, the electric motor, or both should provide torque to the wheels. It also describes a system with a powerful electric motor that receives energy from a battery at high voltage and low current to increase dramatically the efficiency and performance of the system. This patent represents a significant breakthrough in the development of efficient and cost effective hybrid vehicles today.

Paice Patents Rank Among World’s Most Dominant Hybrid Patents: Paice’s US patents rank as the two most dominant hybrid patents in the world – and four of its patents rank among the 10 most dominant patents – according to a recent study of all hybrid patents filed worldwide. “Paice started drivetrain development before Toyota and other Japanese car companies got serious about hybrid cars around 1994,” says the report from Griffith Hack, an Australian law firm that specializes in intellectual property.

Licensing Agreements: Paice has licensing agreements with Toyota and Ford, two of the world’s largest automakers, for its hybrid technology. The agreement with Toyota covers all Paice patents, and the Ford agreement covers the ‘970 patent.

Bringing Paice Technology to the Market: Paice has invested heavily in the commercialization of its patented technology. A team of veteran automotive industry executives spent years working with engineering firms to create a working prototype of Paice’s technology and pursue joint venture opportunities and licensing arrangements with automakers. Paice first proved during a 1999 demonstration that its patented technology could reduce gas consumption of a Cadillac Coup de Ville by nearly 50 percent while retaining its driving performance and reducing harmful emissions.

Support from Abell Foundation: The Abell Foundation, a non-profit organization in Baltimore that supports causes such as increasing energy efficiency, has invested more than $20 million in Paice to develop and license its Hyperdrive technology.