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 SIL2-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.
Patent family: US 10,072,676 · US 10,808,732 · US 11,408,442 →Spring-energy fail-close (~2.8 MN preload) closes the valve with motors de-energised — stored mechanical energy that cannot leak away. Two-stage profile holds the Joukowsky surge to ~18% of the 120% MAOP limit.
36″ reference: 21.8–22.9 s SIL2+ closure →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.
Dynamic Drive-Drive control: US 12,535,071 →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 (figure derived from third-party market research; see Commercialization for sources and methodology).
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.