The mobile phone market is growing and the operators are investing in infrastructures at a rapid pace.
The increasing use of mobile devices has brought to attention a fundamental problem: how to power the network in case of black-out?
The stations providing the network service have long used lead-acid-batteries and diesel generators for backup power.
Electro Power Systems, an italian company from Turin, propose a a fuel cell system that does not require an external fuel supply. Its system bundle together fuels cells and an electrolyzer to generate its own fuel: hydrogen.
The company’s most recent innovation: hooking the system to wind turbines and solar panels to make energy.
Kerry-Ann Adamson, director at Pike Research, in Boulder, Colorado, explains the ElectroPs work: “Developing an all-in-one system that uses energy from renewables to produce and store hydrogen “is the holy grail
for a lot of fuel cell companies. They are leading the way in that area”.
Telecom Italia, Italy’s largest telecom, bought its first fuel cell system from ElectroPS in 2009. It
now owns 250 units and will buy approximately 50 more in 2012. Alberto Landucci, who is in charge
of energy saving initiatives at Telecom Italia in Rome, says “ElectroPS fuel cell unit is simple, reliable, and an improvement on traditional battery backup because it lasts longer, costs less and can work in locations with high temperatures. Diesel generators, which may be 40 percent cheaper to buy than fuel cells, ultimately cost more in
fuel, soundproofing, maintenance, and pollution checks”.
HOW THE ELECTROPS CELL WORK
The ElectroPS system houses in a cube-shaped cabinet that measures about 1 cubic meter. When
there’s a blackout, the fuels cells kick in, generating electricity and water from hydrogen and oxygen. The water is stored in tanks until the grid comes back on or, in the newest iteration, when a renewable source is available. Then the electrolzyer passes an electrical current through the water to produce more hydrogen and oxygen, which is kept in vessels until needed by the fuel cells during the next blackout. The self-contained system requires little maintenance beyond an annual top-up of water.