In brief

• ABB has published a guide to help UK motor users to cut through the jungle of terms and definitions used in the new ATEX directive, which came into force on 1 July. The ATEX Jargon Buster is a comprehensive A-to-Z of ATEX-related terms and contains links to Web sites with more information. The free guide comes as a PDF file, which you can request by emailing info@abbmsp.co.uk with your name, company and postcode.

• DeviceNet has been approved as national standard in China where it has been included in the first Chinese standard covering fieldbus technologies. The GB/T 18858 standard is equivalent to the global fieldbus standard, IEC 62026.

• Colorado-based UQM Technologies has been awarded a two-year, $750,000 contract by the US Department of Energy to continue developing a modular line of high-performance motors for hybrid electric and fuel cell vehicles. The work will focus on integrating electronic controls and a recently patented rotor sensing technology for the permanent magnet machines.