Leading energy storage solution provider EnerSys® has transformed from a few hundred million into a $2.5bn business over the last 13 years that Anssi Laitinen has been with the company. He started as a Sales Engineer back in 2003 and has witnessed the global expansion and growth of EnerSys. During the last five years Anssi has been in a marketing leadership role and witnessed the shift in customer demands. Today’s customers are now wanting advanced, application specific solutions to meet their challenges.
This article includes forward-looking statements and / or information, which are based on the Company’s current expectations and assumptions, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to materially differ from those anticipated. Such risks include, among others, risk associated with competitive actions, technology development and implementation, intellectual property infringement, failure to integrate acquired businesses, penetration of existing markets, expansion into new markets, hiring and retaining high quality management and key employees and general economic conditions including the risks described in the Company’s most recent annual / quarterly report, as applicable, on Form 10-K / 10-Q respectively, filed with the SEC, along with other unforeseen risks. Nothing that we say today should be interpreted as an update to the information or guidance that we provided in our most recent investor call, our most recent quarterly / annual report, as applicable, on Form 10-Q/10-K respectively, filed with the SEC, and our current reports filed with the SEC on Form 8-K since quarterly / annual report.
TowerXchange: Please re-introduce EnerSys® - where does the company fit in the telecom infrastructure ecosystem?
Anssi Laitinen, Marketing Director – Reserve Power EMEA, EnerSys®:
EnerSys® is a global leader in energy storage for industrial applications. We have over 10,000 customers in over 100 countries and have been supplying reliable products and services for 100 years. Both in Europe and in the US we boast tremendous heritage and knowledge, with many of the world’s most renowned battery plants under our umbrella.
As a segment, Telecom is a part of our Reserve Power business and contributes >35% (FY15) of global Reserve Power sales. The Telecom business is an invaluable opportunity to interact and develop together with a fast changing industry.
Traditionally EnerSys® has been a faithful, valued battery supplier to OEMs and end users, which we are proud of, however we are increasingly adding an extra layer of product and services. Though our recent acquisitions EnerSys® has focused on vertical integration and value added solutions. EnerSys® remains a trusted battery manufacturer, and now supplies a variety of other product and services; latest being thermally managed enclosures, cabinets for BTS and Fibre-to-the-X environment. We are integrating power into cabinets, provide monitoring solutions and offer a range of anti-theft solutions. This has enabled EnerSys® to become a broader supplier and partner to the telecom industry.
TowerXchange: When tower companies are providing shared power solutions, what are their energy storage options, and what are the pros and cons of each solution?
Anssi Laitinen, Marketing Director – Reserve Power EMEA, EnerSys®:
More than 80% of all batteries are still supported by lead-acid chemistries.
Lithium-ion and other alternate energy storage chemistries may be getting lots of exposure, but deployment has been slower than expected and their track record remains limited. Lithium-ion has found a narrow niche where the situation calls for reduced space and weight. Lithium-ion may offer more cycles, but there is still a narrow band where Lithium-ion benefits materialise in terms of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), and recycling can be expensive.
Nickel-cadmium is a capital intensive solution, and has seen small scale usage as backup power; typically at remote telecom sites. Sodium Nickel Chloride batteries never really took off, and some well-known players have divested that business now.
Flow batteries have a niche presence in the market place but typically this technology has a relatively low energy density, round trip efficiency and some complexity at a system level. While flow batteries offer good cyclability, are relatively safe, nonetheless it remains a big exercise to get the system commissioned.
Every energy storage technology has its pros and cons, technically and commercially. In the context of infrastructure sharing where power is shared, loads are significant at the outset, which calls for a certain type of energy storage solution. There is risk in investing the extra capex to get the 10,000 cycles that some of these alternate chemistries claim to provide. If they fail at 6,000 cycles, or if there are instances of theft or vandalism, the TCO fails. In the EMEA and ASIA telecom markets, you have to be brave to count on a battery to survive on a site for more than five years due to challenging grid conditions, theft or pure application related challenges.
Lead-acid batteries have been supporting industrial applications for over 100 years. Today Thin Plate Pure Lead (TPPL) is our backbone technology – and for example EnerSys® SBS® EON Technology® batteries launched in 2007 in the telecom off-grid landscape continues to be used in the harshest conditions.
Whilst EnerSys® is already the industry leader, we are still exploring how far this technology can be stretched – we have not seen the limit of what lead batteries can do. Manufacturing process improvements like design and materials development are enabling us to improve the product every year. We have our base TPPL platform and we don’t need to deviate too far from that – it’s more a matter of fine tuning the engine, using features of the chemistry to match the requirements of the specific race. In the MEA tower business it is all about high cycles and temperature resilience. In the US and mainland Europe the battery may need to deliver high performance in one minute when in utility scale energy storage these requirements may be combined. TPPL can be tailored to the application.
TowerXchange: One of the ways towercos can add value for their clients and improve their own bottom lines is to reduce opex - can you share some examples of how EnerSys®’ solutions have enabled opex reductions?
Anssi Laitinen, Marketing Director – Reserve Power EMEA, EnerSys®:
Whether we can reduce opex by around 60% compared to a site running the DG 24/7 depends on the customer specific operating conditions. Fuel costs are relatively low today, so this is not only a driver but when you plug in service costs (such as those defined simply by the distance of the site from the refueling depot), and the replacement cost of the DG, all significantly influence the potential opex saving.
Having implemented our TPPL batteries in challenging telecom grid conditions for over nine years, we now know how the product has performed and this gives us the confidence to continue to support our existing and future customers.
Towercos need to recognise that energy storage is becoming a crucial component of value creation. If battery banks are sized, charged and discharged correctly, monitored correctly and if timely actions for replacement is taken, then the site operation and reliability will be optimized.
C-level guys at towercos should to understand it is not just a simple battery: it can be your best friend or worst enemy depending on execution. If uptime targets are missed, the cost of SLA penalties is compounded by reputational damage. We have seen sites where best in class deployments are ruined by adding a cheap battery to an expensive generator. This has led to the generator not starting when needed. Or in other scenario, the business case is spoiled due to the wrong battery operating settings used by the customer. The worse the grid conditions, the more crucial the role of energy storage and correct operation is needed.
TowerXchange: What role is EnerSys® playing in the migration from indoor to outdoor telecom systems?
Anssi Laitinen, Marketing Director – Reserve Power EMEA, EnerSys®:
EnerSys® provides a variety of thermally managed enclosure solutions. This offering helps the transition from traditional, high energy consumption sites to more environmentally friendly, lower opex solutions. Typically in many of these projects, the requirements are governed by this simple question: what do you want to cool and what is the best way to do it? Does your battery require cooling? Radio equipment and rectifiers can often run up to 55-65°C. If you’re dealing with a supplier who understands the role of batteries in thermally managed cabinets and who can provide one energy storage solution, you can reduce risk and complexity and develop an overall power package tailored to meet the requirements of your specific rollout with the minimum opex.
TowerXchange: Is the migration from indoor to outdoor telecom systems nearing completion?
Anssi Laitinen, Marketing Director – Reserve Power EMEA, EnerSys®:
What I see is that site modernization from an energy consumption perspective has not proceeded at the rate and the scale many expected. It requires a fundamental change in thinking to move everything out into the sun and/or really start to run your equipment in higher temperatures. It will be a long process to modernize Eastern European and African cooling systems to stop or reduce running A/C. Most equipment today still remains in the same small hut or building, but many of these could be converted to outdoor equipment in the future. Temperature tolerant TPPL technology together with thermally managed solutions can play a significant role in this.
TowerXchange: Let’s talk about the European telecom tower market; what backup power solutions are typically on European cell sites, and what typical energy storage requirements do those sites have?
Anssi Laitinen, Marketing Director – Reserve Power EMEA, EnerSys®:
Europe is a different market compared to Middle East Africa. There is generally less expectation for cyclic capability. Float non-high cyclic lead acid batteries have proven to be the most reliable, most deployed energy storage product in European telecoms.
European grids are generally stable, but challenges arising from equipment or ambient temperatures mean there is still an interest to run sites at higher temperatures and unlock the savings of free cooling. In Italy, Spain and parts of Russia like the CIS; markets where towercos are increasingly active, free cooling can help. On these areas where we see extreme temperature differences free cooling could offer a solution to optimize sites’ yearly energy consumption.
Many countries in Europe have recommendations or even regulatory instructions regarding the back-up times on mobile cell sites. For example, Sweden has recently started to move from two hours back-up time to four hours, especially outside densely built-up areas. On the other hand, Germany regulators do not require any backup power, so there are sites without any back-up power. Towercos should understand these fundamentals to determine what kind of requirements and dynamics this may drive. It also significantly impacts the risks and returns of the investment.
Problems can begin to occur in countries where grid stability varies for example between major cities and less populated areas. This drives the battery selection especially in cases when major cities may utilize less cyclic batteries in comparison with less populated areas, where there may be a need for high cyclic, more robust battery solutions.
TowerXchange: As the tower industry becomes increasingly global, please explain the importance of working with global partners.
Anssi Laitinen, Marketing Director – Reserve Power EMEA, EnerSys®:
As mentioned, EnerSys® has over 10,000 customers in over 100 countries. We have a leading worldwide presence with 32 manufacturing facilities located in the Americas, EMEA and ASIA.
At EnerSys® we believe we need to build the solution to create the best overall value. As a global company we maintain our leadership position by providing customers with world class products and services, achieved through total employment involvement, team work, and supplier partnerships. This belief is the foundation that helps shape the company’s vision for progress and allows our customers to achieve their goals.
TowerXchange: Finally, please summarise how you would differentiate EnerSys® from competitive energy storage solution providers.
Anssi Laitinen, Marketing Director – Reserve Power EMEA, EnerSys®:
I believe what makes EnerSys® unique is our products and our people.
Our products and services are the foundation of our market leadership, and our solutions are recognised for their quality and heritage. Our battery products span a broad range of sizes, configurations and electrical capabilities, enabling us to meet a wide variety of customer applications. And I believe EnerSys® has very talented people to fit the needs of our customers worldwide.
