PowerModule® battery system obtains Type Approval Certification(TAC) from Bureau Veritas for marine applications

Saint Cyr l’Ecole, France, Dec 2023

Today marks a major step forward for PowerTech Systems, which has obtained marine Type Approval Certification (TAC) for its PowerModule® range of modular batteries.

This international-wide certification, obtained from the Bureau Veritas Marine et Offshore organization, guarantees that the PowerModule complies with several standards, tests and procedures:

  • IEC 62619:2022 (Standard for cell safety and resistance to thermal runaway)
  • IEC 62620:2014 (Lithium ion cell durability standard)
  • Vibration and environmental tests for marine safety
  • Electrical and functional testing
  • ISO 9001 quality system

Battery modules are also tested and certified for safe transport of lithium-ion batteries (UN38.3 standard).

Thanks to its equivalence with other certification bodies (DNV-GL, LOYDS, RINA, etc.), this certification enables PowerModules to be used in all naval electrification projects requiring international marine classification.

Please do not hesitate to contact us for any project requiring certified marine batteries.

100% electric groomer powered by PowerModule

It’s a pretty baby, 9m long and weighing over 11 tons, that silently roams the French Alps to groom the ski slopes.
This snow groomer’s diesel engine (almost 13L in displacement) has been replaced by electric motors, which are more reliable and far more efficient than the original combustion engine. The result is a 100% electric machine, consuming four times less energy and with a range of 6 to 7 hours, the equivalent of a night’s work on the slopes.

Romain Dupon, head of the eponymous company based in Pontcharra (France), is proud of his teams who, after several years’ hard work, have developed the world’s first 100% electric snow groomer.
For the battery, PowerTech Systems collaborated with CM Dupon to provide the energy storage solution needed to power the vehicle.

The PowerModule product range met all the project’s requirements: high energy density, extreme modularity to integrate the packs into the cramped space available under the bodywork, ease of installation, and real-time monitoring of the installation.

For this project, 77 PowerModules are integrated on board the retrofitted “Alpine 510” snow groomer, constituting a 415 kWh, 600VDC Lithium Iron Phosphate battery pack.

The first snow groomers will go into operation this winter 2023 in various Alpine resorts (Tignes, La Plagne, etc.), under the aegis of Compagnie des Alpes (CDA).

PowerTech delivers its battery solutions for the DSNA

The DSNA (Direction des services de la Navigation aérienne) antennas cover the French territory for communications and air tracking (notably ADS-B). Given the criticality of these installations, these antennas have power generators to ensure the continuity of operations.

The DSNA’s intention is to replace these diesel generators with a clean back-up system consisting of solar panels, a hydrogen fuel cell and a lithium-ion battery.
In September 2021, the new energy back-up system was inaugurated at the SARLAT antenna in Dordogne. PowerTech Systems provided the PowerRack battery system for this prototype.

In the longer term, this eco-responsible backup system is destined to be deployed on all the antennas of the territory.

PowerTech leads the development of a smart and highly scalable BMS for the EEC promoted MARBEL project : “the EV battery of the future”

Our company has been selected and enrolled in a new innovation project led by the European Union. We are proud to participate in the MARBEL project, whose objective is to develop a vehicle battery that meets the acceptance criteria for the future, namely ecodesign, modularity, use of recycled and environmentally friendly materials, additive manufacturing, ultra-fast charging, and last but not least low manufacturing costs.

Our contribution in this project is major since we will be in charge of developing a distributed and ultra-communicating BMS system for the management, control and piloting of this new generation battery.

The ultimate goal of this project is to produce this battery of the future for a car model of the FCA (FIAT-CHRISLER) group from the end of 2024.

This project will start in January 2021 and is financed by the European innovation programme H2020 to the tune of about 11 million euros.

More details of the MARBEL project :

With the goal of accelerating the mass market take-up of ultra-high-performance batteries for battery electric vehicles (BEV) and plug-in hybrids (PHEV), MARBEL project (Manufacturing and Assembly of modular and Reusable Battery for Environment-friendly and Lightweight mobility) will base its approaches, solutions and innovations around the versatility concept as an axis within the entire project. It will focus on the need for fast charging and long-lasting batteries to boost end user demands, while applying high modularity and easy assembly and developing novel testing methodologies for safety, profitability and circularity.

MARBEL will design, develop and demonstrate new modular, compact, lightweight and high-performance battery packs together with flexible and robust battery management systems for these BEV and PHEV, while maintaining safety levels, allowing fast, high quality and cost-effective large-scale production and following the “made by Ecodesign” principles. A set of modules easy to pack together and to disassemble would ease the manufacture and dismantling of different battery configurations sharing the same production process and common elements.

MARBEL will develop and qualify future and innovative performance- and safety-related test procedures of developed functionalities such as the use of miniaturised housings, a flexible test-bench simulating integration-in-EV conditions (electric Vehicle In-the-Loop, eVIL) and artificial intelligence as a tool to reduce the time of laboratory experiments.
MARBEL aims at a triple win, for people, business and planet.
MARBEL is expected to generate scientific and technological impacts, boost the appearance and consolidation of new players (especially SMEs) and business models, reinforce the European position in the global battery market, and contribute to environmental and societal targets.

In addition, MARBEL approach is based on the following pillars:

  • Advanced battery packaging using a Design for Assembly (DfA) and Disassembly (DfD) methodology.
  • Lightweight and sustainable battery packaging.
  • Solutions and processes for the sustainable dismantling and 2nd life.
  • Flexible advanced battery management systems.
  • Ultra-fast charging strategies and enhanced thermal management.
  • Future performance & safety-related test procedures.
  • MARBEL consortium is made of 16 partners from 8 different European countries, representative of the aimed multi-stakeholder collaboration and business drivers required for developing the battery pack of the future.
  • PowerTech and Shark Robotics partnership to fight COVID-19

    We are pleased to announce our partnership with the French Start Up Shark Robotics, which specialises in the manufacture of multi-role robots and whose vocation is to keep man away from risk.

    Within this framework, PowerTech develops and supplies the batteries embedded in these autonomous robots, which are very robust and designed to replace man in delicate situations.

    For example, the Colossus robot, a cute 500 kg baby, helped save Notre-Dame de Paris from flames in 2019 by manoeuvring the fire hose as close to the fire as possible, where the firefighters could not get to without risk to their lives.

    With the COVID-19 pandemic, Shark Robotics has designed a new robot called “RHYNO PROTECT” whose mission is to spray disinfectant solutions over 20 000 m² in less than 3 hours, i.e. 2m² per second, without exposing humans to the risk of contamination.

    Modular, this robot can also purify the air in confined environments, such as hospitals. An air purification option allows up to 99.99% of suspended pathogenic micro-organisms to be eliminated, thanks to a UV-C lamp.

    These innovations are being exported, so much so that the prestigious American company Boston Robotics” is going to equip its “SPOT” robots with this decontamination add-on developed by Shark Robotics.

    PowerTech Systems would like to honour all the medical personnel for their admirable mobilisation in this crisis, and is happy to participate indirectly in the war effort to combat the scourge that is COVID-19.