Project description
New energy storage system to reduce emissions
Half of the global greenhouse gas emissions are produced by diesel generators, which are mostly used to supply electrical power in construction sites. The EU-funded POWER BOX project aims to reverse this trend with a solution that combines electric energy storage with grid stabilisation. The project has developed a ‘plug & play’ energy storage system with a battery pack and hybrid inverter (patent pending). It can work in parallel with any energy source (alternating or direct current i.e. AC or DC) including diesel generators, renewables and the grid, suiting the needs of construction sites and bigger operations. The project aims to optimise the technology and bring it to market by mid-2021.
Objective
The construction sector is responsible for 50% of global GHG emissions. In fact, diesel generators supply 98% of the electrical power required in construction sites. These generators are usually over-sized in order to cover all power peaks while working at low loads most of the time (<50% of their capacity). Unfortunately, diesel generators have a very poor efficiency at low load levels which causes a waste of tremendous amounts of fuel along with increased emissions. Working at low levels also reduces the service life of the generator and entails high engine-servicing costs.
xelectrix Power GmbH is an Austrian company specialized in construction equipment with energy-efficient drive technology. Strove by the need for a solution that would combine electric energy storage and grid stabilization and could work in parallel with any kind of energy source (renewable or not), we have developed Power Box: a “plug & play” energy storage system (battery pack and hybrid inverter – patent pending) that can work in parallel with any energy source (alternating AC or direct current DC) including diesel generators, renewables and the grid suiting the needs of construction sites and bigger operations. With Power Box, diesel generators and the grid always operate at optimal efficiency. During peak energy requirements, Power Box and the generator combine to meet these requirements while during periods of low loads, the power is taken directly from Power Box’s battery storage.
Through this project, we aim to set the technical and commercial bases of Power Box optimization to then by mid-2021 commercialize it among construction companies who already own diesel generators and energy who need energy storage and stabilization solutions. By the lack of adequate competing solutions on the market along with the growing demand of power supply, we expect to sell at least 3,900 Power Box units in 5 years to generate €119M revenues (ROI 7.86).
Fields of science
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectrical engineeringelectric energy
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsrenewable energyhybrid energy
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringmining and mineral processing
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencessoftwaresoftware development
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
4310 MAUTHAUSEN
Austria
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.