29 April 2019

Centiel has brought its Li-ion battery solution to market.Unlike lead acid, Li-ion batteries are happy running at a temperature of high 20s/low 30s (0C).

Similarly, most IT systems work at >250C and the UPS technology itself can work well up to 400C. By contrast: an industry standard estimate is that for every 10 degrees above 200C the operating life of a VRLA battery is halved.

The firm claims Li-ion batteries typically require less than half the physical space of the equivalent lead acid blocks and are less than 25 per cent of the weight.

It also reckons that while 10-year design life lead acid batteries are normally replaced every seven or eight years, with Li-ion this is 13-15 years. Centiel says the adoption of Li-ion within UPS systems so far, has been greater in developing countries in Africa and the Middle East, where the main power grid is less reliable than in the UK and frequent power problems are more commonplace. In these instances, the UPS and battery systems are required to be cycled several times per day.

The company says this greater take-up is primarily due to the higher cycling life of Li-ion: typically, 2,500 power-up and down cycles compared with around 300 for VRLA technology.