ESS delivers containerized solutions for Mali Mission
Our containerized energy storage solutions has been integrated in the UN MINUSMA mission.
Our containerized energy storage solutions has been integrated successfully with the existing power plant onsite and developers in MINUSMA for the Mali mission of the Dutch Army.
Dutch armed forces have been participating in the UN MINUSMA mission in Mali since early 2014. This operation aims to restore security and stability to the country and protect the civilians. The Netherlands supplies, among other things, Special Forces, Intelligence personnel and Apache and Chinook helicopters. The Dutch units work from Gao, the place in Mali where the headquarters of the mission is located. Here the Dutch soldiers live and work in a military camp that is built and maintained by its own Genie. During this mission, Defense will use a sustainable power supply system, at least for part of the camp. It is the first time that such a system is used under operational conditions. We are proud that Defense chose the Deployable Power Module from ESTechnologies. We supply this system in close collaboration with Drehtainer BV, a Dutch company that supplies, among other things, all protected living and work containers with associated installations for Camp Castor.
Our Solution
The ESTechnologies installation is housed in a protected, refrigerated 20-foot container and consists of an energy storage with twenty-six ESTechnologies Lithium Polymer batteries connected in series with associated standard conversion technology. The whole is connected to 250 kW generators and to flexible solar panels from Zonel Energy System. The Dutch Engineers in Afghanistan have had good experiences with this type of panels and they now want to use them again in Mali. The solar panels are mounted on the roofs of the accommodations.
The batteries are charged using the energy from the solar panels, supplemented if necessary by the energy generated by the generators. The power is then always taken from the batteries. The ESTechnologies Deployable Power Module determines fully automatically whether charging is done with the help of the solar panels or by means of the generators.
The benefits for Defense:
- The ability to buffer energy obtained from the solar panels during the day for power consumption during the nighttime hours.
- A very stable network in terms of frequency and peak voltages (an enormous advantage in view of sensitive electronic equipment).
- Automatic access to a UPS with uninterrupted operation without loss of data.
- Planned use can be made of the aggregates, so that they can be used especially in the cooler hours, so that they yield a higher yield.
- Less wear and tear on the generators because they can be switched off during sandstorms (fine dust) (so less downtime and less maintenance costs).
