EHA+ · Mesa, Arizona
Drive-Drive Power applies its patented Drive-Drive electrohydraulic gear pump architecture — positioned as fly-by-wire for hydraulics — to large-bore Emergency Shutdown Valves across midstream and upstream oil & gas. The EHA+ replaces the legacy HPU with a closed, motor-redundant, firmware-reconfigurable actuator engineered for deterministic safe-state response.
Why EHA+
Pneumatic ESDVs run out of torque density above roughly 20″–24″ / ANSI 600. Conventional hydraulic systems carry an HPU, an umbilical, and a fluid-management burden. The EHA+ collapses the supply chain into a self-contained, electrically powered actuator — with the deterministic closure profile, fail-safe stored energy, and SIL 4-grade reliability that large-bore pipelines demand.
Two independently driven prime movers replace the single shaft of a conventional external gear pump — the foundation of the EHA+ architecture and the platform's redundancy story. Each gear is powered by its own motor and drive, so the two share the load continuously and either one alone can carry the duty. It is the mechanical basis for everything else on this platform.
Accumulator-backed fail-close with a two-stage closure profile (typically 70% fast / 30% slow) keeps Joukowsky surge within 120% MAOP on large-bore liquid pipelines. The valve is closed by stored energy with the motors de-energised, so the safe state does not depend on the drive, the control system, or external power. On the 36″ reference, controlled closure completes in about 22 seconds.
Gap-control, torque-control, and fixed-differential synchronization modes with tooth-by-tooth LUT corrections — a single hardware platform configured by firmware for the site. The same unit derates cleanly from SIL 4 mainline duty down to gathering and tank-farm service, so one part number covers the range and simplifies spares, training, and qualification.
Safety. On a single-motor valve, one drive failure removes powered actuation — and a valve that cannot open can leave a section blocked in, escalating toward overpressure, rupture, or a loss of safe venting. Drive-Drive's second motor removes that single point of failure, so the valve still opens and the relief path is restored on demand.
Reference Design (Use Case)
A trunnion-mounted, full-bore quarter-turn ball valve with split-body construction, flanged ASME B16.5 / B16.47 RF or RTJ ends, CS body with SS/Inconel trim and PTFE fire-safe seals — engineered against API 6D / ISO 14313, API 607 fire-safe performance, and ISO 15848 Class B fugitive emissions.
| Parameter | Reference value |
|---|---|
| Architecture | 2 × 55 kW servo motors, one Drive-Drive pump |
| Actuator output torque | 300 kN·m rating (~1.4× over 220 kN·m breakaway) |
| Hydraulic supply | ~200 bar nominal rail (130–215 bar); actuator cap ~86 bar |
| Pump efficiency | ≈89% total · 93.7% mechanical · ~95% volumetric (twin) |
| Pump delivery | 225 L/min (71 cm³/rev @ 3500 rpm) |
| Closure dump flow | up to ~650–720 L/min (two-stage) |
| Fail-safe energy | Mechanical spring (~2.8 MN preload) · HP accumulator support |
| Reservoir | 200 L collection bottle (CLS twin) · ISO VG 32/46 mineral oil |
| Fluid cleanliness | ISO 4406 16/14/11 (specification) |
| Position feedback | D1 LVDT + LSO / LSC end-of-stroke switches |
| Interfaces | Hardwired SIS discrete I/O · SCADA via Modbus/DNP3 · optional HART |
| Verification | 18 / 18 digital-twin checkpoints PASS (OLS & CLS) |
Applications
Selected from a Bain-led workshop with industry advisors as the highest-priority oil & gas applications for EHA+ — targeting the ~$2.0 B EHA+-relevant slice of the global valve actuator market. See Commercialization for full TAM bottom-up and segment scoring.
Large-bore block valves on hydrocarbon transmission lines — the primary EHA+ design target.
Wellhead and production-manifold ESDVs where torque density and fail-safe response matter most.
Footprint-constrained installations where the closed EHA+ eliminates topside HPU and umbilical mass.
Closed-loop architecture and ruggedization path positioned for subsea isolation when qualified.
Intellectual Property
The EHA+ sits on a US and international patent portfolio covering the Drive-Drive pump, linear actuator integration, hydrostatic transmission, flow-through shaft, and dynamic Drive-Drive control.
Two independently driven prime movers — the core architecture.
US 10,072,676 · US 10,808,732 · US 11,408,442
Integrated pump, proportional valves, and controller as a single module.
US 10,539,134 · US 11,242,851 · US 12,421,985
Closed-loop power transmission built on the Drive-Drive pump.
US 10,465,721
Integrated accumulator and motor-cooling routing through the pump shaft.
US 10,294,936 · US 11,067,170
Gap-control, torque-control, and fixed-differential synchronization with tooth-by-tooth LUT corrections.
US 12,535,071 (granted Jan 2026)
Continuous diagnostic checks of a gear pump in a fluid system — foundation of AI predictive maintenance.
US 2025/0035111 A1 (allowed May 2026)
Request a technical briefing on the EHA+ platform, redundancy architectures, and reference designs.