Launched in April, the Acta Power is a self-recharging backup power system incorporating a hydrogen PEM fuel cell and low-cost onboard hydrogen generation technology. The system has been developed to meet the backup power requirements of telecom base stations in off-grid or bad grid locations. It utilises filtered rainwater for its water supply, and avoids the cost and logistical barriers of hydrogen delivery to base stations in remote or inaccessible sites.
The Acta Power system competes on cost against traditional battery and diesel solutions, while offering a cleaner solution and better service – and avoiding the theft risk associated with diesel, methanol, and battery systems. The Acta Power is a further development of Acta’s first integrated fuel cell telecom backup power system with onboard hydrogen generation, which was assembled and tested last year by M-Field Energy in Taiwan.
Acta’s first Acta Power trial in the Philippines was announced in July following the announcement of trials in Africa and Australia, all with major mobile telecoms operators, and a separate renewable energy storage trial in the UK. In addition, earlier this month the company signed a distribution partnership with Shanghai Sunwise Energy Systems Co Ltd for the distribution of electrolysers and backup power systems in China.
The new Philippines trial will be undertaken in partnership with Lead Core Technology Systems Inc (LCTSI), a technical support company specialising in battery systems and engineering support services for telecoms and other industries. LCTSI will be Acta’s engineering and client services partner, with responsibility for installation and technical management of the trial, as well as commercial promotion of the installed system within the final client’s organisation.
The trial unit is due to be shipped in October, and will undergo initial testing onsite for one month prior to a two-month live trial at a grid-connected telecom base station. Subject to the successful outcome of the trial, the partners believe that there is the potential for a significant level of orders in this marketplace for Acta Power systems.
‘We have seen a strong level of interest in the capabilities of the Acta Power among the major mobile phone operators in the Philippines, and we are delighted to be entering our second trial agreement there,’ says Paolo Bert, Chief Executive of Acta SpA. ‘We believe there is an outstanding business opportunity in the region for our unique backup power system.’