A coalition of UK companies have joined together to develop a new solar energy storage solution for military use.
Lincad, Oxis Energy, Pure Wafer and Solutronic have worked together to produce a system that is well suited to deal with the extreme challenges faced by military use.
The system will comprise of Pure Wafer manufactured solar panels, which are manufactured to survive the vigours of military use. The solar modules will charge the Oxis-manufactured lithium sulfur cell batteries during the day. During recent testing the Ministry of Defence confirmed that the batteries were capable of withstanding extreme abuse.
The military array will use Lincad’s battery management system while Solutronic will supply the electronics which connects the solar modules, batteries and equipment to power. Commenting on the system Lincad CEO, Brian Soden said, “This development will revolutionise energy costs for the military around the world. It is indisputable that the cost of fuel for defence continues to escalate. Governments are keen to find alternatives and solar energy will play a significant part in bringing down the cost.”
However, the consortium believes that the military application is just the beginning, with plans to adapt the system for the commercial and residential market. OXIS Energy CEO, Huw Hampson-Jones explained: “Combining our expertise in this way will allow these systems to be easily and quickly deployed. They will be invaluable to the armed forces. This development will impact commercial businesses and residential households across Europe and the wider world and will considerably reduce energy bills.”
Pure Wafer CEO, Peter Harrington added: “This consortium will help solar energy to penetrate both the commercial and residential markets to a much greater extent and will be much more cost-effective.”