APPLICATIONS

Railways and Construction

Maintenance of railways and other infrastructure is often undertaken in locations remote from power sources. Often, maintenance work is restricted to a short overnight shift. The incumbent solution – diesel gensets – are heavy, noisy, very inefficient, require regular maintenance regimes, and produce CO2 and particulates which prevent their use in confined spaces.

Our HyBall product is man portable, silent, highly efficient, has no moving parts and zero emissions during use. It is designed to provide power through a working shift of 6 hours, with area lighting and intermittent high power draws of up to 3kW of AC power for cutting, grinding and light welding.

Remote Monitoring

Sensors and probes are being increasingly deployed in remote locations. Examples include railway signals, water quality and flow rates in waterways, and weather monitoring. Typically a sensor will remain in place for weeks or months at a time, with monitored data downloaded during maintenance visits. Extending the duration of the sensor reduces the number of visits and significantly lowers cost.

Our Micro product is being developed to meet the needs of this application. It has a 50W micro fuel cell on board, hybridised with a battery to provide low levels of power for long periods. Coupled with a hydrogen source, the unit can remain in place for months at a time.

Lighting

The development of high performance LED lights has opened up large markets for off-grid area lighting. Improved LED performance means 50W of electricity could provide 10,000 lumens of light. A typical application is lighting up the area around a railway maintenance team to daylight equivalent.

Our Micro system is ideal for this application. 50W of constant power, backed up by a high performance battery and an easily portable hydrogen fuel source, can deliver a full 24 hours of power for lighting.

Welding

Welding jobs in remote areas are one of the toughest challenges for small power systems. The typical solution is a large, heavy (100kg+) diesel genset. Our BOC PowerPack product is being developed to provide mobile power to the remote welding market sufficient for standard 3.2mm MMA rods. We are also working on a novel welding inverter which can power 4mm MMA rods.

Emergency Response

An increasing proportion of medical equipment requires electricity. Rapid response medical and emergency teams must have access to portable and reliable power sources.

Our HyBall and BOC PowerPack products offer DC and AC plugs for any location.

Utilities

Electrical utilities are frequently called upon to maintain their infrastructure in remote locations and with little lead time. Our HyBall and BOC PowerPack products can be carried easily by hand, providing kW scale portable AC and DC power.