POWER GENERATION Ӏ CRANE BATTERIES


or place; and later, in the same or another place, they release it. They are energy storage solutions.


STORAGE SOLUTIONS Storage is the Holy Grail of renewable energy. Anyone who can find an efficient, compact, and affordable way of storing the intermittent energy that we get from solar, wind, tidal or waves will become immensely rich, and would save the planet into the bargain. Batteries are a partial, but only a


partial, solution. As we have seen, they have a problem. Weight for weight, compared to diesel, they do not store very much energy. Technology has progressed.


We now have lithium-ion batteries and variants of them, and Ni-Cad (nickel-cadmium) as well as the traditional lead-acid. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. Two or three phrases are


key here. One is energy density. Another is power density, which is not quite the same thing. There is charging rate; and yet another consideration is discharge rate. And since in these applications they are operating at the edge of the current technology, extracting every last fraction of efficiency from a battery is key. Hence Battery Management Systems, or


Battery-powered tower cranes in London


Ampd Energy, a player in the energy storage industry, in collaboration with Select Plant Hire, a subsidiary of Laing O'Rourke, has deployed three of its zero-emission ‘Enertainer’ lithium- ion battery energy storage systems at London's high profi le Olympia Redevelopment. Ampd Energy says that its modular lithium-ion battery solution has the


potential to revolutionise the industry by electrifying building sites and driving down carbon emissions. The deployment of the Enertainer systems at the Olympia Redevelopment is estimated to save 192 tonnes of carbon over 12 months, reduce operating costs by 70%, and eliminate the equivalent air pollutants of 975 cars when compared to standard diesel generators. Ampd Energy claims that, over the life of the project, the Enertainer will


be more cost effective than diesel generators, as well as saving space and labour time. According to Ampd Energy, compared to fossil fuel generators the


Enertainer reduces carbon footprints by up to 90%, is up to 30 times quieter, emits zero air pollutants, and eliminates diesel handling and usage risks. It requires minimal maintenance and zero refuelling downtime. According to Ampd Energy, the Enertainer is the fi rst energy storage


system in the UK to power such large construction equipment and, with the partnership with Select, the battery system is now available across the UK. The company already has 130 Enertainer batteries in use across building


sites in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia. “We are proud to have launched our fi rst European deployment for the


Jekko’s SPX328 spider crane – electric, of course


Olympia Redevelopment,” said Brandon Ng, CEO and co-founder of AMPD Energy. “This is a fantastic opportunity for us to demonstrate the Enertainer’s compelling environmental and commercial impacts, right here in London.”


BMS, are another vital component. They regulate the rate of charging and discharge, which in turn affects your battery’s longevity and cycle-life. Battery Management Systems optimise these. Your mobile phone is powered


by a lithium-ion battery, and it works well for that. But Li-ion batteries does not work well at low temperatures. They may need heating circuits in winter, which is a waste of the energy they are supposed to be storing. They are also hazardous: they are liable to overheat and catch fire. (You


28 CRANES TODAY


may remember incidents of li-ion batteries fitted to the Boeing Dreamliner self-igniting when that aircraft was first introduced, causing the entire fleet to be grounded.) Even so, their energy density is the best available. Battery problems might seem to be eliminated if you can plug your crane by cable directly into the mains supply – and for tower cranes that has been a well-used solution. They tend to operate in city sites. Cities such as New York were early introducers of restrictions on diesel emissions;


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