Munich, June 21, 2018 - Battery storage manufacturer Tesvolt and project developer Unlimited Energy were awarded “The smarter E Award” for a project realized in South-West Australia. The avocado farm in Pemberton has already been operated on battery power only for the last 660 days. The energy concept for the farm includes a 53 kilowatt (kW) photovoltaic system that simultaneously feeds a 160 kWh saltwater battery system as well as a 48 kWh Tesvolt energy storage system. The farm is completely self-sufficient and is operated without connection to the power grid.
“People want sustainable and organically grown food. The avocado farm proves that climate-neutral production is possible even in the outback," says Daniel Hannemann, Commercial Director of Tesvolt. "We are proud to be part of this project and that our technology makes a significant contribution."
100 percent self-sufficiency in a demanding environment
The avocado farm in South-West Australian Pemberton produces 90 tons of avocados annually on 5 hectares, which are sold regionally. The fruit, which need a lot of water and sun to develop their optimal taste, are supplied with water using hydraulic water pumps from underground water tanks during the hot and dry Australian summers. These fill up during the very rainy winter season.
"The whole system would not function without the high performance of the Tesvolt energy storage solution," says Unlimited Energy CEO George Zombori. "Above all, a fast charging and discharging speed was important to us to allow for the water pumps to start up. While the Tesvolt storage system absorbs peak loads, the salt water battery system takes care of the base load. “As a matter of fact, the Tesvolt system could do all the work," says Zombori.
Simple plug and play installation
Although only as large as a refrigerator, the Tesvolt storage system provides 940 amps for peak-load periods. Tesvolt uses prismatic high-energy and high-performance lithium-based cells in its batteries. A fast discharge of up to 4C for a short time is possible, which makes the system particularly suitable for commercial operations.
The entire Tesvolt system was installed within 20 minutes using the simple plug-in system. "The plug-and-play principle has saved us and the installer a lot of headache," says Zombori. For a region in which certified technicians are rather rare, this is a major advantage for future projects".
About Unlimited Energy
With a passion for all things renewable the team at Unlimited Energy Australia came together to apply the collective experiences in local, regional and international technologies and actively promote a sustainable, unlimited and cost effective approach to providing energy to meet your needs. Unlimited Energy is a trusted provider in the development and application of hybrid renewable energy solutions across metropolitan and regional Australia. The company takes pride in an innovative approach, customer first philosophy and cutting edge energy solutions.
TESVOLT AG is one of the innovation and market leaders for commercial and industrial energy storage system solutions in Germany and Europe. TESVOLT products enable companies to end their energy dependency and play a part in the energy transition. The agile company produces intelligent lithium storage systems with power ratings from 10 kilowatt hours through to multiple megawatt hours – with top quality and TÜV-certified safety. TESVOLT manufactures its commercial storage system solutions in series production at its own carbon-neutral gigafactory in Lutherstadt Wittenberg and delivers them worldwide. The company has already received several awards, including the German Entrepreneur Award in the “Rising Stars” category, “Innovator of the Year” from TOP 100 and the smarter E Award in the “Outstanding Projects” category.
Ingo Valldorf
Corporate & Financial Communications
Phone: +49 3491 8797-234
E-mail: ingo.valldorf@tesvolt.com