Founded in 1969, GS E&C is one of the most successful and innovative companies in the fields of architecture, civil engineering, plant assembly and power plants. Thanks to an eco-responsible management system that keeps pace with technological developments, the group is definitely looking to the future.
Highly committed to protecting the environment, the Korean company is increasingly moving towards eco-responsible consumption. It was against this backdrop that it formed a partnership with Hexagon Battery Regeneration (HBR). This collaboration has led to the adoption of the Batterie Plus battery regeneration technology.
EPC GS E&C launches battery regeneration in Abu Dhabi
As a world leader in plant design and assembly, the Korean group GS E&C is involved in a number of projects requiring the use of stationary and industrial batteries.
GS E&C recently managed the construction of the IRP2 pipeline for ADNOC Distribution’s Al Ruwais refinery. This is a 910 km pipeline designed to supply several ADNOC product ranges derived from petroleum to ten of its partners, including ADAC, Jet A1, ULG, Gaz Oil, etc. Hundreds of industrial batteries are used to operate this infrastructure. These batteries are used to power the pipeline’s 13 or so sectional valve stations, installed every 30 km.
Some batteries store the solar energy needed to manage the security of the systems, particularly video surveillance during the day, as well as instrumentation. During the night, other batteries take over to ensure that the machines run smoothly.
To ensure the continuous operation of the IRP2 pipeline, 2100 NiCad batteries (with a mix of capacities from 735 to 1110 AH) needed to be renewed. The Korean group decided to regenerate the batteries instead of investing in new accessories.The company then turned to HBR (Hexagon Battery Regeneration), a Batterie Plus regeneration centre located in Abu Dhabi.
Although battery reconditioning has become widespread in Korea, it had never before been implemented by the two entities (GS E&C and ADNOC) in the United Arab Emirates. So this is a new experiment, and the results have been more than satisfactory.
Regeneration saves over 2.5 million dollars!
The choice of battery regeneration is a profitable initiative for the Korean company. It has saved the company $2.5 million. The Batterie Plus regeneration technology used by HBR is therefore not only a sustainable solution, but also a highly cost-effective one.
The project was carried out in two stages:
- The trial phase
- The adoption phase
During the 4-month trial phase, HBR carried out a number of experiments and tests on its NiCad battery technology. The results were very promising, as all the tests carried out were positive. With a 100% success rate, the project was adopted and the battery regeneration phase was launched.
In February 2020, HBR delivered almost all the batteries it had been entrusted with. It had succeeded in giving a second life to products that had lost their performance and were destined for the bin!
In addition to thousands of dollars in financial savings for the Korean group GS Ingénierie, over 100 tonnes of hazardous waste were avoided!
HK Lee, GS E&C’s project manager on the IRP2, was right to express his satisfaction: “I wasn’t 100% convinced that regeneration could cure more than 2,000 batteries. But as the project progressed, we saw the success rate increase and we were very surprised by the final success rate with the Batterie Plus technology. In total, only 4 batteries out of 2100 units could not be regenerated. The handover of the replacement batteries was completed last week and we have had nothing but positive feedback from the customer ».
HBR’s Technical Sales Manager, Tamam Al Hashmi, also commented on the project: “We had some challenges on the project, as we were working 24 hours a day on high capacity batteries, which took longer than expected. Finally, our 8 BeEnergy – Batterie Plus machines, which provide the highest pulse current on the market, shone and we are very satisfied with the result.
