Frustrated by power cuts? Hong Kong firm unveils elegant solution

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Power cuts be damned: The Ampd Silo can store enough energy for an office of 10 to work for four hours

For anyone doing business in the Philippines, the niggling fear of work being interrupted by power cuts is always present.

At the moment, the only practical solution is to hook up to a noisy, gas guzzling generator — or just shrug your shoulders and take the day off.

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However, all this could soon be just a bad memory with a new energy storage silo unveiled by a Hong Kong tech firm.

Looking very much like an unusually elegant refrigerator, the Ampd Silo can power an office of 10 workers for four hours, and up to three can work in unison.

It would also be a godsend for public services such as hospitals, where power backup is required by law. Currently they rely on bulky in-house power generators, taking up space that could be much better used.

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On top of this, in some more developed countries, it can be used to take advantage of reduced night time tariffs — the stored energy can be accumulated overnight and used during peak hours.

According to its founders, Brandon Ng from Brunei and Brazilian Luca Valente, the company “envisions a world where reliable electricity is universal, affordable and sustainable.

“Our mission is to deliver reliable electricity through better and more affordable ways of storing the energy we already generate, instead of making more of it.”

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Their groundbreaking product, developed over the last two years, is a bank of almost 2,000 lithium-ion batteries housed in compact casing.

Mr Ng said: “Existing systems run off lead acid batteries, which are made from one the most toxic materials, and they don’t last long — a two-to-three year lifespan, compared to 10 years for ours.

“We also aim to replace diesel generators – which are loud, polluting, antiquated devices – as a backup power device. The Ampd Silo overcomes all these shortcomings.”

While it’s possible to connect the system to green energy sources such as solar or wind power, this is not the primary focus of the company at the moment. “Our customers are not asking us for a solar battery,” Mr Ng said. “We’re saying to them, stay grid connected, but be protected from power disruption.”

The price of the units has not yet been announced. For more information, visit the company’s website at ampd.energy.