Pioneering solar storage battery is praised

A pioneering solar storage battery designed by a Shropshire-based company has won widespread praise after being shown off at an international trade fair. 

The SolarSDS, created by renewable energy and battery specialists AceOn was displayed on the flight deck of the HMS Trent at a special Department for International Trade event in Nigeria.

The HMS Trent, currently docked in Lagos, is visiting the Gulf of Guinea to provide training and support to the Nigerian navy and to promote the UK’s trade interests in the area. 

AceOn Group managing director Mark Thompson jumped at the chance to demonstrate the Telford company's portable Solar Distribution System at the trade fair.

“Our SolarSDS mobile storage unit can play a massive part in bringing clean, affordable and sustainable power to some of the world’s poorest regions in the future, especially where the electricity infrastructure isn’t reliable or it is insufficient to meet local needs.”

AceOn announced earlier this year that it had been awarded Innovate UK funding to develop a new version of its SolarSDS to enable full integration with sodium-ion batteries. These next generation batteries will be manufactured by AMTE Power. 

The sodium-ion project will also create a new trailer to transport the equipment, new assembly and maintenance systems to enable pack assembly, repair, and re-use locally in Nigeria, and will include a full life cycle analysis of the system, including its environmental impact. 

Mark said: “We will be bringing the new design of the SolarSDS to Nigeria in two years’ time when we and our partners complete the Innovate UK project, so to get the exposure at the exhibition in Lagos has been an incredible opportunity for us.” 

Demonstrating the SolarSDS and its future potential at the HMS Trent exhibition was AceOn’s local partner Nevadic, the Nigeria-based energy and power business that will be delivering the rollout of the sodium-ion project in sub-Saharan Africa. 

Dave Nwosu, CEO of Nevadic, said: “From the feedback of the visitors to our stand, there is clearly a hugely under-served market in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa for innovative technologies like the SolarSDS, which meet demand for sustainable primary and back-up power supplies.  

“As well as being versatile, affordable and portable, the SolarSDS is a potential panacea for solving the energy trilemma on climate change while closing the energy poverty gap in Nigeria.  

“The coast is certainly clear for an energy storage transition towards the development, adoption and commercialisation of sodium-ion battery technology led by AceOn in partnership with Nevadic, University of Wolverhampton, and DZP Technologies.”  

Telford-based AceOn has over 30 years’ experience in the design and manufacture of custom-built battery packs and the distribution of industrial and consumer batteries to the worldwide market. The energy division provides a training, service and distribution centre to offer a full turnkey solution for residential and commercial battery energy storage systems. 

Pictured: Nevadic's Glory Nnadozie shows DIT country director Chimwemwe Chalemera the SolarSDS