Battery Energy completes national program to extend battery back-up for remote base stations

Battery Energy completes national program to extend battery back-up for remote base stations

Back-up power resiliency for 341 regional and remote mobile base stations upgraded with Australian batteries and industry-leading Active Management system.

August 3, 2021
Company updates

Battery Energy Power Solutions, a leading producer of energy storage solutions, is proud to share the success on the Federal Government Mobile Network Hardening Program to extend the battery back-up for remote mobile base stations. As part of the $13.2million initiative working with Telstra, Battery Energy deployed 22 MWh of Batteries and Active Management Solutions to provide twelve hours of backup power for a minimum of ten years across varied sites nation-wide. Due to the critical nature of the program, a solution was required that had remote management and transparency to the remote sites.

This national project began in March 2021 and was completed in June covering regional and remote areas across Australia.

In the wake of the Black Summer bushfires, it was found that only three percent of the mobile tower outages were due to fire damage. The main reason for the loss of networks resulted from the mains power being out.

“We use Battery Energy SunGEL batteries in our most remote locations of Australia. It was important to ensure we were using a trusted technology that was proven to withstand harsh conditions. These batteries combined with the active monitoring allows us to ensure Australians remain connected when it matters most “ – Glenn Bohannon, National Senior Contracts Manager, Telstra

SunGEL Ultra batteries and asset management system in Cedartown, Queensland
SunGEL Ultra batteries and asset management system in Cedartown, Queensland

Mobile towers located in many regional areas face some of the harshest conditions in Australia with searing temperatures. Battery Energy built and supplied over 8,500 SunGEL Ultra batteries in four months in combination with an embedded Battery Energy Asset Management system to actively keep the battery systems balanced and remotely managed.

However, unlike other energy storage systems on the market, these batteries are not reliant on the management system and should the management system go off line during a natural disaster, the critical back up power will continue to operate.

Battery Energy Asset Management system
SunGEL Ultra batteries with embedded battery sensor (left). BEAM software interface (right)

“Mobile communications during natural disasters is critical. When the mains power goes out, being able to access essential information and services is a lifeline to many communities in affected areas. We have been trusted by Telstra for over 30 years. We are proud to be involved in this project,” Adrian Edgar, Executive Director for Battery Energy.

More information about Battery Energy SunGEL Ultra batteries can be found on the Battery Energy Power Solutions website. For more information about the Battery Energy Asset Management system, download the data sheet here.

For more information

Please direct enquiries to our media team via email or call 1800‑819‑829 (tollfree).

About this project

Name of project:

Federal Government Mobile Network Hardening Program

Location:

National

Client:

Telstra

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