Alternative Energy Storage System for Wireless Cell Sites

Magnetek, Inc. and VRB Power Systems Inc. unveiled a unique 5kW Energy Storage System (ESS) last week at the CTIA Wireless show in Las Vegas. The companies co-developed the 5kW ESS as an alternative to traditional lead-acid battery backup systems.

Based on VRB Power's patented Vanadium Redox Battery Energy Storage System (VRB-ESS), the system is available in 5kW or 10kW configurations. The VRB-ESS is comprised of an electrolyte storage tank containing a vanadium-based electrolyte supplied to a regenerative cell stack that converts chemical energy into electrical energy. A chemical reaction in the flow-cell stacks creates a current that is collected by electrodes and made available to an external circuit. This reaction is reversible allowing recharging of the dc power modules.

The ESS is well suited for a variety of applications. Virtually maintenance-free, it affords substantially lower cost of ownership than lead-acid battery-based systems and provides unprecedented security-of-supply to meet the energy needs of critical telecommunications facilities. In addition, the system's small footprint is a bonus for cell sites where space is limited.

With its precise state-of-charge monitoring and extremely rapid recharge rate, the ESS system is ready to perform whenever an ac utility grid outage occurs, and when power is restored it is back on duty faster than any other backup system available. Environmentally friendly and competitively priced, the ESS unit is the system of choice where high-reliability power is needed. As a "green" technology, the ESS has negligible ecological impact and is unlike most other conventional energy storage systems that rely on toxic substances such as lead or cadmium.