Saft batteries provide backup to TotalEnergies’ technical centre

Author: Beatrice

Saft has delivered a Flex’ion lithium-ion battery system to ensure continuity of critical systems at TotalEnergies’ Technical Centre for the Asia Pacific (TCAP). This research facility develops, analyses, and tests lubricants, special fluids and fuel additives for the automotive, off-road, and industrial sectors.

TotalEnergies’ laboratory experiments in Mumbai often need to run continuously over months. Any power outage could lead to a test failure, disrupting the laboratory’s research and delaying the introduction of a new product to the market.

The site’s researchers wanted to improve efficiency and reliability by upgrading the existing decentralised UPS with a single centralised system. They turned to Saft for a system to deliver 250kW for up to 15 minutes. Partners were able to integrate their technologies smoothly, and produced a system for TotalEnergies within a tight timescale of less than four weeks.

Amandine Racaud, Head of TotalEnergies’ Technical Centre for Asia Pacific, says: “We want complete reliability from our backup system so that we can plan our research programmes with confidence. Being safe and reliable, Saft’s Flex’ion batteries are ensuring power continuity to keep our experiments on track. Flex’ion systems are also recognised for their lower environmental footprint, in line with TotalEnergies sustainability approach.”

Flex’ion batteries were developed for high-performance UPS applications where space and safety are vital. Housed in five cabinets, the battery system is compact enough to fit into the limited space available. Also, Saft’s patented lithium-iron-phosphate electrochemistry and battery design ensure the safest battery solution.

Flex’ion’s lithium-ion battery technology can operate reliably at high temperatures (35°C), which reduces HVAC requirements, minimising energy bills and carbon emissions. Lithium-ion batteries are six times lighter than valve-regulated lead-acid batteries.

Furthermore, with its robustness, design life of over 20 years and maintenance-free characteristics, Flex’ion is the solution that offers the lowest Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of the system.

Once delivered, Saft’s team in India provided support to ensure installation and commissioning was completed smoothly in six days. The battery system’s smart monitoring capability will enable TotalEnergies to have full confidence in its condition and calendar life.

The project builds on Saft’s successful delivery of battery systems for TotalEnergies, which has Flex’ion batteries running in its offices in Singapore and at the High-Performance Supercomputer Centre in Pau, France. In India, Saft has also delivered nickel technology batteries to TotalEnergies for industrial backup applications at the Dhamra LNG terminal and for the Adani Green Solar Parks.