10 April 2017

ELe founder Mark Buchanan says the ELe POD could help organisations save at least 70 per cent in energy costs.

A north west technology firm has produced a new battery system which it claims can power a suite of computers for almost eight years.

Tests conducted over a five-month period by engineers at the University of Manchester showed that the POD developed by Formby-based Extreme Low Energy (ELe) could power 30 computers for seven hours a day over 2,830 consecutive days (i.e. 7.75 years) before the battery capacity dropped.

Dr. Rebecca Todd from the university’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering says: “We applied our findings specifically to consider the use of the POD in educational establishments, and concluded that an average school should be able to use the system for over 14 years before the battery reaches 80 per cent capacity.”

According to ELe, POD stores energy in high-performance lithium-ion batteries, charging overnight to make use of off-peak energy tariffs. When used in conjunction with low energy PCs and monitors, the company says the battery can help organisations save at least 70 per cent in energy costs.

ELe founder Mark Buchanan says: “We’re sure that the results of these independent tests will help prove the value of our DC-power solutions and technologies to potential customers both in the UK and overseas.”

The firm adds that its low energy system can also act as a backup generator and is attracting interest from schools in developing African nations.

Founded in 2014, Extreme Low Energy is a specialist manufacturer of patent-pending power infrastructures utilising energy storage solutions and alternative energy generation.

The company says it offers a range of “unique and innovative” end-to-end DC solutions, including ICT systems, which allows its customers to operate partially or fully off-grid.