EXECUTIVE REPORT
to power a beacon. That is where a small battery pack comes into its own.”
BGG builds its own battery packs and has created its own battery management system (BMS). “The BMS is key to getting the right level of performance out of the batteries. Also, if you buy a product that has a battery from one supplier, a BMS from another, and the enclosure from another, you can end up caught between those three different parties with a disputed warranty claim.”
The company has also integrated Enerpack technology into a hybrid generator, but says the market is still developing. “In the future there will be more of a coming together in terms of the hybrid solution,” adds Archer. “Right now, we are selling an inordinate amount of the Enerpack energy storage systems and an inordinate amount of Stage V diesel generators, but not so many of the hybrid generators.
“A lot of rental companies seem to prefer to keep the technologies separate at the moment, as they find it’s easier that way to right-size the diesel generator for any given application. We have sold a few hybrid generators for specialist applications such as electric vehicle charging in remote locations and that will be a growing niche going forward.”
Hybrid systems MHM Group recently launched an all-in-one solar-battery-diesel hybrid generator that can run on biofuels such as HVO and says that interest levels have shot up this year. “The interest and receptivity have grown hugely since the change in red diesel rules on 1st of April,” says Brad Ireland, sales director.
“The solar battery hybrid generator reduces
use of fuel hugely – up to 90% in some cases – so since the red diesel change this cost saving has multiplied massively and has gone a large way to narrow the long-term cost differences between this and a standard diesel generator hire rate. There has also definitely been a real push from end users asking for greener solutions and pushing hire companies to provide such solutions.”
Ideal applications for this type of technology include events, festivals, inner-city construction sites etc, because of the reductions in emission and noise and costs. “To gain maximum benefits from the machines would be in a situation where the load of the generator runs at a low load the majority of the time and then has peaks at certain points,” adds Ireland. “The reason for this is that at the lower loads the batteries will cover the power demand and the engine will only kick in during higher load demands and occasionally to recharge batteries, effectively keeping the use of the engine to a minimum.”
MHM believes that this market will continue to grow in the coming years. “There is certainly more to come as battery and solar technologies efficiencies improve, the performance and the ability to provide more power from these sources can only get better,” adds Ireland.
Second-life automotive batteries can still last for up to 20 years in energy storage systems.
“As the technology improves it will become easier to eradicate the engine completely. However, with generators as we stand and the varying loads that often occur, we genuinely believe for now though this range of solar hybrid generators is truly one of the greenest solutions out there. It massively reduces the usage of a fossil fuel engine, as well as when the minimum time the engine runs it can run from greener fuel such as HVO and other biofuels.”
New investment Pramac Generac has also invested in this area, purchasing Off Grid Energy in September 2021. Pramac’s Off Grid range now includes pure battery packs for energy storage and diesel hybrid generators. With the solutions in hybrid mode, users can reduce fuel consumption between 40% and 80%, with a reduction of CO2 from 50% to 94.7%.
Andy Martin, Sales Director, mobile and genset distribution, said: “In the short to medium term, we expect to see a further growth of this technology and market. Our battery energy storage solutions used in hybrid mode offer a reduction in fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and overall costs.
“From some analysis on cost savings, carried out for the UK market, there are proven benefits of this technology in hybrid mode. We noticed that in a site setup running combining a generator with a battery storage system we can have -50% fuel litres consumption, -50% in CO2 emissions and around -27% of total costs compared with site running with a red diesel fuelled generator.”
Pramac Generac also offers second life lithium batteries as a power option for the Off Grid range. “Our lithium energy storage units are manufactured as standard using new automotive grade lithium batteries,” said Martin. “As an alternative, on some of our smaller units, we can, if the customer wishes supply 2nd life EV batteries.”
With site emissions coming under greater scrutiny, batteries and hybrid generators represent a growing hire opportunity. And with vast numbers of electric vehicles and all-electric construction machines predicted to be deployed in the coming years, there will be plenty of batteries available for second life applications. n
30 Executive Hire News - September 2022
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