Power Protection and UPS Blog

Bacteria could become the fuel cell source of the future for tiny robots and spy drones. Strains of bacteria like Shewanella oneidensis release electrons as waste product. Hybrid fuel cells where one bacteria feeds of the waste of another to produce fuel are also a feasibility. There are many US government funded research projects now taking place at universities such as Standford and Southern Carolina. One of the key factors behind such research is a desire by the US Defense Department to put more robots in the field to transport equipment, conduct battle operations, and serve as reconnaissance vehicles. Conceivably, a small robot powered by a bacteria fuel cell could shuttle a camera or listening device unobtrusively next to someone. Could bacteria signal the end of the sealed lead acid battery - the primary power source for uninterruptible power supplies ? Click here for more the full article.

One of the main issues affecting green power is just how much energy you take to produce it. There is a case of a corn refinery in Iowa that uses 300 tons of coal a day to make ethanol. If coal becomes the standard fuel for ethanol producing plants then it will undermine the whole green dividend. The reason for the use of coal is that natural gas, for so long the primary fuel for ethanol plants is fast rising in price. The ethanol industry is definitely experiencing a boom but like many boom industries is its fast expansion at the expense of its green credentials ? For more information on this piece click Altnet.

I came across the Bergey site recently and really liked the simple guides these guys have put together on windpower. They start by asking if you have access to grid power or not. Down the “not” route you can then review their guides for powering homes, remote facilities, villages, telecoms sites and water pumps. The day when we have small turbines at home is just around the corner.

A piece in the Guardian Unlimited provides some interesting budget coverage of the Government’s plans to sell most of its assets in the state owned nuclear energy industry. This is part of a wider plan to raise £50bn. I am not sure if this is good news or not. Firstly to whom will the assets be sold ? Secondly have we really seen improvements in the UK’s infrastructure - gas, electricity and water since privatisation under Margaret Thatcher and the great sell off from that period ? Are Labour and Conservative policies converging ?

There were 6,262 exhibitors at CeBIT Hannover this March with a reported 20% increase in deals closed over last year. The mood was buoyant with favourable forecasts for the future. This is great news for companies like Riello UPS, supplying infrastructure support products - uninterruptible power supplies.

This has got to be one of the most amazing gagdets for any computer techie - a fuel cell laptop battery. Powered from methanol this could be one of the first real applications for fuel cell technology aimed at mass market users. Riello UPS is involved in a number of fuel cell projects where it is applying its expertise in inverter and power technologies. Replacements for the traditional sealed lead acid battery could be just round the corner - perhaps within 5 to 10 years we will see easily affordable solutions in the market place.

The threat of grid shutdowns came even closer today with the announcement that we had hit a specific threshold level in gas supply - an amber alert level was reached. For more information click Business Telegraph. Within 20 years we have gone from a country rich in its own natural gas and oil to one that is now an importer with power supply problems. The next 20 years could see our coal fields reopened as the UK struggles for its independence in enery and power generation.

Between March 22nd and 23rd 2006, VoIP for Business is running at the Olympia Conference centre. Technologies such as VoIP and its adoption are helping to drive forward the power protection market. Applications running VoIP require a more sophisticated approach to business continuity - see our Telecoms UPS Guide. I am sure that when we see a £10 handset for VoIP systems there will be a massive adoption of this technology.

Within 2 years the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) hits the statute books. This directive is aimed at all businesses involved in financial trading and advisory services. It is forecast that MiFID will hit the financial market with the force of Y2K, Basel 2 and the Sarbanes-Oxley directives. IT systems, resources and supporting business processes will all be stretched and reviewed for their compliance. So why will UPS become more important ? Because at the heart of the MiFID and other directives is the need to closely look at an organisation’s data management, data warehousing, systems implementation and integration. Key to these is a sound power continuity plan and an Uninterruptible Power Supply that can meet the exacting demands of data centres - like the new Master Plus. For the full article from Computer Weekly on MiFID Click Here.

As the need for computing expands rapidly so does the need for power. An article in Computing on Power Shortages describes how companies in urban areas are finding it more difficult to secure adequate power supplies. The rapid adoption of blade servers only compounds this problem which is starting to be heavily felt in highly populated IT areas such as Canary Wharf.