Innovations in Data Center Power and Cooling Solutions

The University of York moves data to Sweden to reach net zero

As part of its ambition to reach net zero, the University of York will place much of the university’s advanced calculations at EcoDataCenter in Falun, Sweden. Access to sustainable infrastructure for the most energy-consuming part of IT has been the determining factor. "Given the university’s strong commitment to net zero and the fact that our high-performance computing facility will be used for climate research, we were happy to find a partner with a clear focus on environmental sustainability and the capability and maturity to deliver," says Richard Fuller, Assistant Director at the University of York. The need for more data will increase by 300% over the next few years. AI and Machine Learning are part of the concept of High-Performance Computing and are by far the most energy-consuming data, and will constitute the majority of the data growth. A sustainable digital infrastructure that can handle the growing amount of data is vital for the green transition. When the university began looking at the next iteration of its High-Performance Computing facility, it realised that finding a colocation facility that could fulfil its requirements would be a great challenge. Turning to the Nordic countries, the university identified EcoDataCenter as a facility that meets both its needs and values. By placing the data in EcoDataCenter in Falun, the university is able to reduce carbon emissions from the data by about 98%, compared to handling the same data in the UK. Apart from EcoDataCenter in Sweden, being the place where the University of York is carrying out its calculations, the parties will also jointly work to raise knowledge about increased requirements for sustainability in the area of High-Performance Computing. Lack of knowledge about sustainable solutions, demands for innovation and speed often lead to sustainability being deprioritised. “Sustainable research IT is a key principle of the University of York. In addition to optimising the performance of both hardware and software, we need to look at the environmental impact of our work. We have to ask ourselves how we can contribute to positive change by making our supercomputing part of the ‘Green HPC’ movement,” says Dr Emma Barnes, Head of Research IT at the University of York. Due to the cool climate, the cost of green energy and the availability of labour, Sweden is an attractive country when it comes to data centre establishments. However, EcoDataCenter sees that many companies and organisations are turning to Sweden to learn more about the possibilities of sustainability from a broader perspective than just green energy. "When the University of York visited our facility in Falun to learn more about how we construct data centres and how we view the role of data centres in society and the circular economy, we found a common agenda in accelerating the green transition in digitalisation. The collaboration has already started, and we are seeing even more universities interested in what we can offer," says Dan Andersson, CEO at EcoDataCenter.

Data centre operators must develop decentralised energy to achieve resilience

With grid instability and energy security continuing to prove challenging for industry across Europe, a new report is highlighting solutions for data centre operators to navigate a complex energy market and avoid downtime from grid resilience issues. As rising costs resulting from Europe’s energy crisis begin to settle, the report, titled 'Race to Resilience', indicates that ongoing energy instability means power supply remains a major concern for the European data centre market. According to Aggreko, major questions remain over the future security of data centre operators’ energy supply, with power outages, connection delays and rising fees only serving to compound the issue. Moreover, with multiple European countries set to end their energy relief packages for businesses by the end of 2024, and the EU’s gas price cap agreement also ending in February 2024, concern is being raised that this will add to the severity of this situation. In an effort to address these concerns, Aggreko’s report explores how facilities can meet both short and long-term power demands, highlighting a revised approach to decentralised energy as an effective route to improve security of supply, reduce transmission losses and lower carbon emissions. Chris Rason, Managing Director, Aggreko Energy Services, comments, “Energy-related challenges have been a burgeoning issue for the European data centre market over the past decade. While much has changed in this time, it is clear that this issue will not be decreasing in severity any time soon and a re-evaluation of power procurement methods is necessary to guarantee security of supply for the future. “Aggreko’s 'Race to Resilience' report aims to bridge the gap between today’s challenges of exponential energy demand and supply disruptions, with tomorrow’s objectives of security and sustainability.” The report gives practical examples of decentralised solutions in action, including microgrids, gas-powered generators, combined heat and power, and energy storage. One such example features a data centre with existing on-site generation seeking ‘grid-interactive’ capability. Here, as a core principle of demand-side response (DSR), businesses temporarily lower demand when asked by the distribution network operator, using battery storage, Stage V generation or multi-megawatt gas generation to cover these requests. This approach is particularly useful in strictly regulated areas such as the Republic of Ireland, where operators are subject to ‘flexi-supply’ requirements by EirGrid. To give decision-makers a starting point when identifying such models, the report also highlights a series of calculators developed by Aggreko - these include the Data Centre Power Selector, Hire Vs Buy, Grid Compare, and Greener Upgrades calculators. Chris concludes, “The current state of energy instability, compounded by ailing grid infrastructures and pressure to reduce emissions has placed the European data centre market at a fork in the road. Operators face the choice of persisting with the grid and its limitations, or setting forwards on the path to resilience through alternative methods of power procurement. “However, with upgrades through outright purchases bringing their own challenges, bridging solutions offer a risk-free way to set data centres in the right direction. The solutions put forward in Aggreko’s latest report aim to light the way towards new energy models for the European data centre industry.”

Vertiv, a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, has announced key enhancements to its dedicated offering for channel distributors and resellers. According to Omdia, Vertiv is already ranked at first place in the three-phase UPS market globally, capturing 16% of the market. With these enhancements, its highly efficient and market-leading three-phase uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) from 10 to 60kVA, including the Vertiv Liebert ITA2 and its complementary services, are now available in the Vertiv Solution Designer tool and shipping from stock in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). According to Omdia’s UPS Hardware Market Tracker and Analysis 2022, there is an increased demand for three-phase UPS in EMEA from markets outside of cloud, colocation, and telco. These include retail, wholesale, healthcare, manufacturing and other industries. By 2026, the three-phase UPS market in EMEA is expected to grow from $1.66 billion in 2021 to $2.07 billion, a CAGR of 5.84%. “Digitalisation is being leveraged by companies of all sizes and industries, which leads to an increased need for efficient solutions to protect small and medium sites against power outages,” says Karsten Winther, EMEA President at Vertiv. “The strategic addition of three-phase UPS to our IT channel portfolio allows partners to serve a broader market with industry leading solutions, enabling businesses to leverage the latest technologies and accelerate their digital transformation journey.” “As an official Vertiv partner and system integrator for over 30 years, we are seeing more and more opportunities for three-phase UPS systems,” says Ronald Lagerberg, Team Leader Energy Solutions at Endenburg Elektrotechniek. “The extension of Vertiv’s IT channel portfolio expands our options, enabling us to gain substantial logistical, administrative, and financial advantages while enhancing our ability to serve end-users. We look forward to integrating these cutting edge products into our offerings." The Vertiv Liebert ITA2 features a true online double conversion technology, a unity power factor and an extremely compact rack/tower design. Compared to single-phase systems, three-phase UPS allow higher power capacity and up to 99% efficiency in ECO mode. With the offering, expert support on product selection, set-up and performance optimisation throughout three-phase systems’ entire lifecycle is now available also through the channel market. In fact, the three-phase UPS offering is enhanced with customised on-site and contract services specifically designed for the channel, while also leveraging the company’s top tier service network. Having a large portfolio of UPS solutions dedicated to the channel market means that partners have access to a wide range of power protection options, including medium power solutions that allow businesses to expand their digital footprint while still working with their trusted channel partner. Vertiv provides a comprehensive range of specialised services designed to complement channel partners’ business models. The extensive service expertise offers a smooth experience for all parties involved, providing seamless support across their entire service offering, including on-site services, lifecycle services and digital services such as remote diagnostics and incident management. Moreover, partners can leverage Vertiv software solutions to empower asset management capabilities and offer the best experience to their end users. In addition to UPS systems, the company’s broader critical infrastructure portfolio is designed to operate more efficiently, increase capacity and potentially lower TCO while integrating seamlessly with the customer’s existing infrastructure, enabling partners to expand revenue streams and increase margins. With manufacturing facilities across Europe and the world, Vertiv solutions can be made available when and where they are needed. Partners can also access dedicated configuration tools linked with an ecosystem of technical and commercial support teams. Vertiv’s multi-award winning Partner Program features benefits and incentives to equip, develop and reward partner engagement. The addition of the Liebert ITA2 UPS to its IT channel portfolio also enables EMEA resellers in participating countries to earn more points through the Vertiv Incentive Programme (VIP), which allows partners to easily earn rewards without the need for any reporting. Bonus points are uploaded into the Vertiv Partner Portal monthly, and the partner only needs to log in to redeem them.

First data centre in Bahrain to be fully powered by clean energy

Beyon’s Chairman, Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, has announced the completion of Phase 2 of the company’s Solar Park at a ceremony which recently took place in the presence of H.E. s Kamal Bin Ahmed Mohamed, President of Electricity and Water Authority; H.E. Mohamed bin Thamer Al Kaabi, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications; H.E. Yasser bin Ibrahim Humaidan, Minister of Electricity and Water Affairs; H.E. Mrs. Noor Bint Ali Al Khulaif, Minister of Sustainable Development; and Mr Mohamed Almoayyed Director YK Almoayyed & Sons. The event was held at the Royal Golf Club in Riffa, where members of Beyon’s board of directors, executive team and team members involved in the project were present on the occasion. Beyon’s Chairman welcomed the distinguished guests and extended his appreciation for their attendance at the inauguration of Beyon Solar Park. Speaking on the occasion, he said, “Beyon’s efforts towards sustainability and clean energy production continues, and we have made great progress since the launch of the first phase of the Solar Park in November 2021. Today we are glad to announce the completion of the second phase of the project. “We are also very proud of an unprecedented achievement in the telecommunications and technology sector, as Beyon’s Data Centre became the first in Bahrain to rely entirely on clean energy generated from the company’s Solar Park, which is located in the Beyon Data Oasis. “Our journey in the field of environmental sustainability continues in line with our commitment to Bahrain’s vision launched by His Royal Highness Prince, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and announced as part of his address during the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference 2021, held in Glasgow, Scotland, which reiterates the Kingdom’s commitment to achieve zero carbon neutrality by 2060. Thus, we have set clear plans to start implementing the third phase of this project, which will be located in Hamala. Upon completion of this phase, the total clean energy production of Beyon will be approximately 6GWh per year. “On this occasion, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the Ministries, concerned authorities and our partners for their invaluable support in helping us implement this project and contributing to its success,” Shaikh Abdulla concluded. Beyon’s Solar Park Phase 1 and 2 will generate 3.6GWh of clean energy leading to a carbon footprint saving of over 2000 tonnes and a cost saving of BD105,000 annually.

i3 Solutions Group secures patents for greater data centre resiliency

i3 Solutions Group has been issued two patents by the USPTO (US Patent and Trademark Office) for its Adaptable Redundant Power (ARP) topology control solution for mission-critical electrical power systems. ARP is a hardware and software control system that overcomes the inflexibility of common data centre electrical designs, solving the service level agreement (SLA) disparity problem whereby power supply chain systems are fixed but IT load demands, and criticality are variable. At the same time, ARP addresses constraints associated with traditional static power topologies which can restrict access to available data centre power, often leaving costly stranded capacity unused and increasing end user costs. This is an acute challenge for the wholesale colocation industry, which does an admirable job securing and deploying grid power capacity, but is often unable to fully or optimally utilise it - causing energy waste and higher costs. Benefits of ARP Ed Ansett, Founder and Chairman of i3 Solutions Group, says, “Every business has low to high levels of application criticality and interdependency. Through developments such as Kubernetes, IT can be orchestrated to reflect this. However, when it comes to electricity, the power chain is fixed, wasteful and difficult to change. ARP is a way to flex the power SLA to match the IT workload SLA without the considerable expense of rewiring the entire topology design.” By enabling power service levels to be aligned with that of the IT load, ARP provides a range of benefits to both data centre operators and their IT customers. ARP enables applications and the hardware they sit on to be provisioned with varying levels of electrical power resilience. Today, it is obvious that not all IT workloads are equal - for example, a dev ops project for a marketing campaign versus live financial transactions workloads in retail or merchant bank, or a network rack compared with a super compute cluster. However, the way power is delivered using a fixed topology does not differentiate in terms of criticality, treating all workload destinations equally. ARP is different because it can automatically provide power resilience across the topology that is dynamically matched to the criticality of the IT load. ARP solves inherent redundant power challenges too Traditionally power chain designs for data centres are based on a chosen level of capacity, resilience and redundancy of N, N+1, N+2 and less commonly 2N, 2N+1 and 2(N+1). But once the topology is decided and deployed it is fixed. It is then expensive, time consuming and extremely difficult to change. ARP addresses this. ARP can also provide Inherent Redundant Power (IRP). Where some electrical designs leave ‘power pockets’ (assigned power that is unused) - IRP accesses previously trapped or stranded power and prevents it going to waste by utilising it to provide additional levels of redundancy. Power-as-a-Service offers from colocation data centres one step closer ARP offers colocation data centres the opportunity to create new business models based on their power infrastructure. One of the advantages, for example, is that ARP enables a staggered approach to infrastructure roll out which responds to end-user load and not design criteria. By treating power as a service right from the construction phase, ARP addresses many flexibility issues which have surfaced for modern data centre operators. While data centres will continue to be designed as physical buildings which are broken down into halls, ARP modules are flexible enough to provide power across multiple halls. ARP therefore enables developers to move away from traditional and capitally intense methods of infrastructure deployment - up-front design, source, pay for and roll-out the full site requirement for genset, switchgear, UPS, PDU and ancillary equipment, and then wait for the demand to arrive.

The new Schneider Electric Easy UPS 3-Phase Modular

Schneider Electric has introduced the Easy UPS 3-Phase Modular. This robust uninterruptible power supply (UPS) is designed to protect critical loads while offering third-party verified Live Swap functionality. Easy UPS 3-Phase Modular is available in 50-250kW capacity with N+1 scalable configuration and supports the EcoStruxure architecture, which offers remote monitoring services. With scalability top of mind, Easy UPS 3-Phase Modular enables you to pay as you grow, allowing you to optimise capital investment. It is a part of Schneider Electric’s Green Premium portfolio, which ensures energy efficiency, durability, recyclability, and transparency to help reduce environmental footprint. In addition, this system features advanced technology such as a high-efficiency design, intelligent battery management, real-time monitoring, and control capabilities, making it one of the most cost-effective and energy-efficient UPS solutions available in the market. “We are excited to introduce Easy UPS 3-Phase Modular to the market,” says Mustafa Demirkol, VP of Offer Management and Marketing for Data Centre Solutions. “This product provides customers with third-party certified Live Swap, modular design, and unwavering reliability in an optimised investment package. Its connectivity provides peace of mind, making it the easy choice for data centres and commercial and industrial applications.” Business continuity made easy Easy UPS 3-Phase Modular enables customers to lower their capital expenditures through an optimised capex model. In addition, scheduled downtime is significantly reduced through self-diagnosing third-party certified Live Swappable power modules and static switch, thereby increasing reliability and availability in a compact footprint. Easy UPS 3-Phase Modular is easy to select, configure, install, and maintain, which makes the deployment process seamless. Easy UPS 3-Phase Modular is part of Schneider Electric’s Easy UPS three-phase product portfolio, which focuses on core features to meet the needs of customers at a value price point. "Our new Easy UPS 3-Phase Modular provides a sustainable, scalable and best-in-class power protection solution for data centres, commercial buildings, process automation and industrial manufacturing environments," says Mark Yeeles, VP, Secure Power Division, UK and Ireland. "By leveraging its Green Premium and circular capabilities, customers can reduce their carbon footprint to meet sustainability objectives without compromise.”

Stellium Datacentres selects Schneider Electric’s Galaxy VM UPS

Stellium Datacentres has partnered with Schneider Electric to help drive data centre resilience and efficiency. Stellium selected Schneider Electric’s Galaxy VM UPS with lithium-ion (li-ion) batteries to provide energy efficient, resilient, and sustainable power protection at its data centre in Newcastle. Stellium’s location in Newcastle has emerged as a major UK connectivity hub, and the meeting place for high frequency data-transfer across local, national and international borders. CBRE, for example, recently cited its 80MW (scalable to 180MW) colocation facility, as the largest in the north of England region - offering hyperscalers and enterprises a viable, alternative wholesale location compared to operators in London and the south of England. Powered by REGO certified 100% renewable energy, Stellium provides Tier 3+ mission-critical infrastructure and diverse connectivity services for a multitude of businesses including fintech and high frequency trading, energy, healthcare and pharmaceutical research and public sector. The company also positions itself as the new Data Meridian - where east meets west in data transfer - being the UK’s only data centre landing station for the Altibox/NO-UK Nordic subsea cables and Aqua Comms North Sea Connect cable, as well as the home of the UK’s newest Internet Exchange Point NCL-IX. An international gateway One of Stellium’s clients is Aqua Comms, a provider of international undersea fibre connectivity, which provides major connectivity linking the USA with Ireland, the UK and the Nordics. The America Europe Connect 2 (AEC-2) project is a dual diverse trans-Atlantic fibre connection comprising two legs, one directly from the US to Denmark and the other passing through Ireland, the Isle of Man and England, where it terminates at the Stellium Campus before continuing to Denmark. The overriding requirement for Aqua Comms’ landing station is guaranteed, 100% uptime, reinforced by a stringent service level agreement (SLA). Several factors make the Stellium Campus a good fit, including ample utility power via the UK’s Super Grid, which provides dual 11kVA feeds into the site, as well as backup power systems that offer defence in depth. Its features include 2N levels of redundancy offered by Schneider Electric’s Galaxy VM UPS and 6MVA standby generators arranged in an N+1 configuration. Stellium selected Schneider Electric’s Galaxy VM UPS due to its high levels of reliability, strong technical and energy efficiency capabilities, and because the company’s sustainable approach to its product strategy matched Stellium’s approach to life cycle management. Galaxy VM UPS Designed to provide highly efficient data centre power continuity, Schneider Electric’s Galaxy VM is a scalable, three-phase UPS for data centres and industrial environments. Powered by lithium-ion batteries, Galaxy UPS delivers the highest levels of backup power protection in a smaller footprint, offering advantageous space saving capabilities for colocation businesses. Furthermore, Galaxy VM utilises Schneider Electric’s patented eConversion mode as standard, offering up-to 99% energy efficiency alongside Class-1 (UL certified) power protection level for critical loads, without compromising availability. “Today, businesses have come to the realisation that through high quality fibre connections and access to 100% sustainable power, it is possible to have major data centres built to Tier 3 standards, in almost any location,” says Paul Mellon, Operations Director, Stellium Datacentres. “By partnering with Schneider Electric and using its UPSs to build the highest levels of redundancy and resiliency into our Newcastle data centre, we’re safeguarding the provision of our customers critical equipment, and ensuring their applications are powered both efficiently and sustainably.” “Stellium Datacentres truly defines what it means to be a northern powerhouse and has built a campus primed to create hyperscale levels of growth in the north of England,” says Marc Garner, SVP, Secure Power Division, Schneider Electric, Europe. “We’re delighted that Stellium has selected our Galaxy VM technology to power its mission-critical workloads, and help it deliver industry-leading levels of resilience and efficiency.”

Vertiv introduces UPS for distributed IT networks and edge applications

Vertiv has introduced the Vertiv Liebert GXE, an online double-conversion single-phase UPS, available in 6kVA and 10kVA power ratings in either a tower or rackmount configuration. The system is designed to provide reliable power to distributed IT networks and edge computing applications in various industry segments such as enterprise, government, manufacturing, finance, education and retail. The product is globally available for countries and organisations using 230V solutions, and is now shipping from stock in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). The Liebert GXE performs with high efficiency up to 94% in online mode, and up to 98% in ECO mode, driving energy and operational costs savings compared to other models available on the market. The high output power factor of 1.0 enables continuous and reliable power to more connected devices, protecting them against many disturbances in the AC mains with the online double conversion technology and the input surge protection. The flexible rackmount or tower form factor, with rackmount kits included as a standard, facilitates stock management for distribution in the IT channel, and simplifies installation to accommodate various micro data centre and edge computing needs. The unit’s runtime can be extended with up to four external battery cabinets (EBC) for longer back-up protection, and the hot-swappable VRLA batteries can be easily replaced by users without the assistance of skilled personnel and without shutdown of the loads for smoother operations and minimised maintenance costs. Additionally, the Liebert GXE has an integrated 4A charger providing quick battery recharge up to 90% in just three hours - which can be critical in case of frequent mains failures - and an integrated battery management system to optimise battery life and recycling. The Vertiv Liebert GXE includes a user-friendly LCD colour display that makes it easy and intuitive to use. The unit offers remote monitoring capabilities for quick and easy access to IT infrastructure, through the optional Vertiv Liebert Intellislot Unity Communications card and a free download of Vertiv Power Insight software. Moreover, customers can also rely on Vertiv LIFE Services to support remote maintenance and servicing of the UPS for maximum availability. “IT channel distributors and resellers are constantly looking for efficient and cost effective solutions to protect small and micro IT sites against power outages,” says Andrea Ferro, Vice President channel, IT and edge applications for Vertiv in EMEA. “This latest addition to our IT channel portfolio provides all the key features and performance capabilities needed in an online double conversion UPS for an affordable price, which allows small and medium businesses of all industries to leverage the latest technologies and accelerate their digital transformation journey.” As part of Vertiv’s IT channel portfolio, the Liebert GXE enables EMEA resellers in participating countries to earn points through the Vertiv Incentive Programme (VIP), which allows partners to easily win rewards without the need for any reporting. Bonus points are uploaded into the Vertiv Partner Portal monthly, and the partner only needs to log in to redeem them.

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

By Aaron Oddy, Sales Engineer at Centiel UK In a Tier III data centre, the UPS systems must be concurrently maintainable without any disruption to the critical load. To achieve this, a separate UPS-backed A and B stream is necessary. If, for whatever reason, either A or B stream becomes unavailable, the unaffected power path will have the capacity and infrastructure to support the total load. It’s a UPS configuration designed to maximise availability and uptime to the critical load. As a Swiss manufacturer, Centiel is regularly involved in supplying UPS systems to suit this configuration within data centres. However, for the client, it may not always be as simple as supplying a ‘like for like’ replacement or replicating a design from a previous facility. There are lots of variables that can dictate the choice of product or manufacturer, so discussing what options are available will help in making the right informed choice. Take, for example, that you have a Tier III data centre with an A and B stream. You may be running some legacy end-of-life UPS equipment on stream A and relatively new equipment on stream B. So, do you replace the equipment on both A and B streams to keep the equipment and manufacturer consistent, or do you just replace the legacy equipment? Which route offers more cost savings and alternative options? There are pros and cons to both. You may choose to stick with a manufacturer based on previous experience, to replace all your equipment. While this may provide some considerable comfort, you may question whether this is the best value in both CapEx and OpEx for the business. You may also be considering the accessibility of this equipment or support should it no longer be available in the future. Where does that leave you as an operating facility? Using a second manufacturer on the same site could solve the issue of putting all your eggs in one basket.  Using two different UPS manufacturers in this way could be seen as an additional layer of resilience to the facility by mitigating risk in the supply chain and services. Replacing just the legacy equipment will help to lower the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) by reducing the cost of new hardware and reducing the running cost with higher efficiencies. In this scenario, you could say that you are making good use of your existing equipment working alongside the new equipment with a robust supply and support structure. There are no issues with running completely different UPS systems on true alternative A and B streams. They don’t need to be compatible as they operate on independent power paths. Centiel is starting to see some of the most forward-thinking data centres that require the highest levels of availability adopting this strategy because it increases the resilience, not only to the equipment that supports them but the companies they work with too. A further advantage of adopting this method is the ability to compare two alternative UPS systems in a live scenario. This could be a beneficial exercise to evaluate the performance of two different UPS systems from two different manufacturers. Particularly when it comes to their energy efficiency, performance, ease of installation, technical support and maintenance, even down to small details like the amount of noise they make or even how they physically look. It can provide valuable insight and help with informed decision-making for future UPS system lifecycle replacements. Working with alternative manufacturers may only be the right choice for some data centres and primarily when reviewing the replacement of legacy equipment. For new data centre builds, for example, the decision to stay with a single manufacturer maybe more advantageous, for example, the commonality of equipment for users, the flexibility of equipment to be redeployed, the warranty period, and possibly a more cost-effective maintenance plan with the same provider. However, for certain scenarios with their existing infrastructure, it may be a possible solution! Centiel’s role as trusted advisors is always to give the best recommendations to its clients. At Centiel, the company’s experienced team is always available to discuss and help evaluate the best approach to UPS design, installation and management to suit any facility’s critical power protection needs. Centiel’s leading-edge technology, backed-up with its comprehensive maintenance contracts carried out by experienced engineering teams ensure its clients’ power has the very best protection at all times over the long-term. 

Green Cubes announces IEC Certification of battery backup units

Green Cubes has announced International Safety Certification IEC 62368 certification of the Lithium Guardian Battery Backup Units. The Lithium Guardian family of backup batteries are designed for rack mount installations in the telecom and data centre industries. The telecom and data centre facilities operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, supporting mission critical functions. Traditionally, large lead-acid batteries are used to provide backup power. Li-ion batteries allow operators to store more energy in smaller spaces to power equipment longer when the grid power goes is unavailable. Lithium Guardian batteries serve this market by providing safe, clean, and reliable backup power in a small, lightweight, and cost-effective package. The Guardian product family provides complete power system solutions to telecom and other 48V system operators with products providing rectification, power management, and energy storage. The Lithium Guardian Battery Unit (GBU) is a 48V, 105 Ah, 5kWh Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery offering reliable energy storage in a small lightweight form factor. With a design life of over 10 years and well over 3500 cycles, the LFP GBU provides operators with a long lasting energy storage solution. “Safety and reliability are paramount to our requirements when designing Li-ion batteries. We verify our designs are safe and reliable for their application by real world testing and certification to globally recognised IEC standard,” says Mike Davis, Chief Revenue Officer at Green Cubes. “Lithium Guardian Batteries were designed to operate with a wide range of equipment; from radios, routers, to HVAC, our batteries must work. Achieving IEC 62368 assures customers that these batteries will provide power to their equipment safely and reliably.” IEC 62368 is an internationally recognised standard to verify safety and reliability of electronic devices in telecom applications. The Green Cubes GBU has been evaluated by engineers and tested in the lab to ensure that when integrated in operator systems the battery will remain safe and not adversely affect other equipment. Previously, the Lithium Guardian 3U battery has been tested and certified to UN 38.3 for international shipping. The Guardian Lithium Batteries are currently under evaluation with multiple industrial and telecommunication operators. Commercial shipments are scheduled for December 2022.