Boost any limited grid supply with additional clean, silent power that handles peaks AND give you more capacity to power through the day
Limited grid supply is a major issue impacting businesses across every industry – whether you’re a construction site with not enough supply to power heavy machinery and equipment, a manufacturing business looking to grow and ramp up operations, or a farm with seasonal peaks.
So what do you do when you need more power than your grid connection can supply?
- If your need for more power is permanent or ongoing – you’ll likely apply to your Distribution Network Service Provider for an upgrade. Due to grid constraints, if your application is accepted, wait times for upgrades can be anywhere from 6-18 months.
- If your need for more power is temporary, either due to waiting for a permanent upgrade or it being a time-bound / project-based need like a new build – you’ll likely seek out a generator for the job. While the genset itself might not be too costly, the fuel and maintenance costs will be.
Where does a mobile battery solution fit in?
Historically, options for anything outside a diesel generator in this scenario have been extremely limited. If a battery entered the conversation, it would have either been a fixed solution, requiring a high CAPEX investment for what is only a temporary need; or a smaller mobile battery that would struggle to meet the required power and capacity demands.
An industrial-scale mobile battery solution like our POWRBANK MAX can cover all bases, and through Powershift’s flexible leasing model, is perfectly suited to alleviate temporary grid supply constraints, providing additional power and capacity when and where it’s needed.
Through leveraging a powerful and versatile product like our POWRBANK MAX, we can:
- Easily meet max power needs – supplying 300kW of power, 400A continuous and peaks of up to 500A. You can also parallel (or join) up to 4 units for a 1.2MW / 1600A supply.
- Maximise capacity without drawing on limited grid supply – with 600kWh of storage, you have the flexibility to power what you need through the day on a single charge without drawing anything from your grid supply, charging overnight when tools are down and supply is plentiful; OR to remain on trickle charge throughout the day from a very small grid connection
- Eliminate the need for a diesel generator – with the battery supplying the power and capacity you need with only a minimal grid connection to charge, there’s no longer a need for a generator
- Optimise an existing generator if no grid supply is available – in off-grid scenarios, the battery can pair with the generator and act as a load buffer, absorbing the large demand peaks. This is not only more efficient, but can also allow for the genset to be downsized to a smaller, more cost-effective unit
- Provide temporary back-up if site power goes down – with 600kWh of storage, you have the ability to draw on stored capacity as a temporary back-up in key areas when the unplanned happens
SOLUTION COMPARISON
GENERATOR ONLY
GENERATOR + BATTERY
Oversized genset for the job
Manage peaks efficiently and downsize the generator to a smaller, more cost-effective unit
Runs all day at mostly low and inefficient loads, which is bad for the genset, the environment and your pocket
Leverage the genset in efficient optimal bursts, reducing genset run-time, fuel usage and emmissions
ELIMINATE GENERATOR – BATTERY + GRID
Battery powers the load while trickle-charging from minimal grid supply, OR leverage the MAX 600kWh capacity to power grid-free during the day and charge overnight when supply is available.
How this works in practice
Leveraging the POWRBANK MAX to
run an on-site crane and hoist.
Scenario 1: Use a Generator Only for the job
The below shows real data of crane and a hoist on a construction site being powered by a standalone 400kVA generator.
GENERATOR ONLY
- Genset run time 11hrs / day
- Diesel fuel ~235L / day
- Genset oversized for the job therefore is underloaded for 96% of runtime, highly inefficient and also at risk of premature failure
In this example you can see the generator is grossly underloaded and inefficient, running at its optimal rate for only 4% of the 11 hours a day it’s operating.
Scenario 2: Add a POWRBANK MAX battery, paired with the Generator
This second graph shows how the POWRBANK MAX battery (green line) is now powering the crane and hoist for the day, with the generator (dark blue line) only kicking in for approx. 3 hours to re-charge the battery .
GENERATOR + BATTERY
- Genset runtime reduced by 85%
- Diesel fuel reduced by 68%
- CO2 Emissions reduced by 68%
- Genset is correctly loaded
- Genset could be downgraded to 150kVA unit for further savings.
This solution reduces generator run-time by 85% and cuts fuel consumption and emissions by 68%, while also optimising genset operations.
Scenario 3: Eliminate the Generator – Use a POWRBANK MAX on a 25A Grid trickle charge
This third graph shows how with a small 25A grid supply, the POWRBANK MAX can meet the power peaks required by the crane and hoist while on trickle charge (i.e. continuous charge at low rate), eliminating the need for a generator.
GRID + BATTERY
- Genset eliminated
- Diesel fuel eliminated
- Noise and inefficiency eliminated
- Flexibility to charge out of business hours to preserve daytime site power
- CO2 Emissions reduced by 75%
This solution provides the optimal outcome – removing the generator, fuel, emissions and noise, and providing a continuous, reliable power supply that can easily meet the site’s needs.
Why the POWRBANK MAX over other mobile batteries?
This is where capacity counts. True flexibility is only delivered when the necessary power is matched with adequate capacity.
It’s the capacity that lets you preserve the limited grid supply for site tooling and equipment during the day whilst waiting until the evening to recharge.
It’s the capacity that gives you the flexibility to run the generator at whichever time is most convenient for your operations.
It’s the capacity that gives you the option to downsize to a smaller, more fuel-efficient generator.
And it’s the capacity that lets the battery carry the site or plant while the temporary builders supply is out for a few days, ensuring productivity is protected and giving you more time to enact contingency plans.
This is demonstrated in the below example:
POWRBANK MAX COMPARED TO THE OTHER BATTERIES THAT OFFER SMALL CAPACITY
The above is modelled from real data of a crane and hoist on a construction site. Competitor solution requires constant charge from the grid – without it, the battery system is drained in less that a day.
POWRBANK MAX can supply power for approx. 2.5 days on a single charge.
Having the right tool for the job is essential. The flexibility of the POWRBANK MAX to handle various, multiple, and changing generation and supply methods, while providing the power and capacity to handle big loads for long times, or smaller loads for even longer times, means your site’s power needs are in safe hands, no matter what the site throws at you today.
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