14
OFF-GRIDENERGY INTERVIEW
IRN JUNE 2014
the tools todo this”, saysMrJones. A rental company
is less likely to take it in-house, he says.
Off-Grid isnow talking topotential rental customers
in mainland Europe, with the ‘Rental Product of the
Year’ award at last year’s European Rental Awards
giving the company somewelcome publicity; “There
does seem to be a flow of interest starting…there is
a real appetite for something that givesacompanya
unique sellingpoint over the competition.”
Three-phase version
A three-phase version formainland Europe is one of
the latestdevelopmentsandmorepowerful versions,
possibly up to 120 kVA, whichwould be coupledwith
a 500 kVA genset, are on the cards. Also being
considered isa system tonetwork thehybridmodule
alongsidea series of connecteddiesel generators.
He is getting some enquiries from the marine
market, whichwould be something of a return to his
roots. Likewise, he sees applications in lots of other
of what has happened to the battery, to sell to the
owner of theasset, withaguaranteeof performance
of performance and residual value – the life left in
the battery and other components.” Off-Grid could
then replace the batteries, if required, and sell the
old units on to new markets. Mr Jones makes the
point that the hybrid units themselves have no
moving parts, no consumables or serviceable items,
aside from thebattery.
In theUK, Off-Grid remotelymonitors theunits and
will alert a customer or site manager if any action
is required. Site visits are undertaken if necessary.
Remotemonitoring can be global, but for site visits
Off-Grid is now talking to three or four companies
about developing partnerships to deliver the
physical support.
A typical annual service cost might be anywhere
between£500 and£1000 a unit, although customers
could choose to train their own staff; “We can supply
sectorswhere off-grid energy is required, such as in
remote sites or where the prime source of power is
unreliable. (Mr Jones has sent some units to Haiti
where theyarebeingused topower hospitals.)
The investment required to get the business up
and running means that profits have taken a back
seat during the development stage, but expects that
to change; “We would expect to show a profit at the
end of this year, with the order commitments we
have.Wecouldhaveabig turnaroundby2015 – that’s
whatweexpect to see.”
The task ahead for Mr Jones is to continue to
convince customers of the technology, although
he acknowledges that “you need to be a geek
to appreciate the engineering”. That makes it
something of a paradox that it is the specialists in
thepower rental sector – the ‘geeks’ if you like –who
areprovinghardest to convince.
Anyway, Off-Grid Energy is managing fine without
them, for the time being. And for Danny Jones
there is pleasure enough in being a pioneer;
“We’ve created something wonderful, and I really
like that.”
IRN
Off-Grid Energy assembles the hybrid power units at a small
facility in Rugby, close to Birmingham, UK.
A Grid-to-Go unit was
used at the UK launch of a
Renault electric car.
