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OFF-GRIDENERGY INTERVIEW
IRN JUNE 2014
lifespan andmaking them best suited to the events
market. Next comes the gel lead-acid option, with a
2000 cycle lifetime, which are ideal for the general
rentals market. Lithium Ion versions, with a typical
6000 cycle life, are much more expensive but the
favoured solution for customers in the power utility
sector, such as SSE in the UK. These batteries also
haveamuchquicker recharging time.
For Mr Jones, getting to the point of offering
a commercial product has taken many years
and is the fruit of a very particular set of work
experiences. He started his career working for GEC
on instrumentation of large drive systems, including
one major project to refurbish the
QE2
ocean liner.
From there he was lured into the marine industry,
designed on-board power systems for yachts and
narrow boats: he helped draw up the UK code for
electrical installations in small vessels.
“My knowledge base was refined in squeezing
sophisticated electrical equipment into small
places in harsh environments – salty, wet, hot, with
vibrations”, he explains, “That gave me a lot of
special knowledge inhow tocreate reliableelectrical
installations indifficult environments.”
That led to a wider interest in ‘off-grid’ power
sources, which accelerated when renewables began
to attract financial incentives from government.
His knowledge of genset manufacturers like SDMO
and Pramac gained through his marine career also
exposedhim the scaleof thegenset rentalmarket.
“We’d had success in cutting fuel consumption in
fixed off-grid situations”, he says, “So I thought, ‘If
we can do that in mobile generators then we have
anopportunity’.”
Early prototype
He formed Off-Grid Energy and took a prototype
hybrid set to the ExecutiveHire Show in 2010, where
the positive response encouraged him to forge
ahead. In the four years that have followed, Off-Grid
has secured amajor supply agreement with A-Plant
aswell aswithSSE,which isusing thehybridsolution
on its emergency back-up units. (The SSE contract
has also helped rubber-stamp the technology, with
the hybrid units being successfully tested by the
PowerNetworksDemonstrationCentre (PNDC) runby
the University of Strathclyde with funding partners
includingSSEandScottishPower.)
The priority is to introduce the system to wider
rental markets worldwide. The benefits are clear,
but the hybrid sets are not cheap at around £20000
(€24000). In the case of A-Plant, the company was
initially cautious about the reliabilityof the systems,
so wanted a faster economic return than would
otherwise be the case for a new product. Mr Jones
says A-Plant’s experience after a year of operating
the systems has beengood, and it will further invest
this year, but it has focused his mind on how to
createamodel thatworks for rental.
“Batteries are critical components: our strength is
understanding different battery technologies – how
to use it, maintain it”, he tells
IRN
. What this boils
down to is what Mr Jones calls “servitisation” – a
horrible word, but important idea; “It’s about taking
a technical product and turning it into a commercial
solution. What we need to do, at the front of the
wave, is to give the rental industry confidence in
determining residual values.
“Servitisation is about package our knowledge
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Off-Grid engineers test a lithium-ion battery system that will be
used by power utility SSE.
