Saft's new Flex’ion Gen2 battery for data centres

23Nov

Saft has set a new standard for uninterruptible power supply (UPS) performance with the Flex’ion Gen2. Manufactured in Europe, the new lithium-ion (Li-ion) backup battery solution provides up to 220kW per cabinet, boosting power performance by 40 percent compared with the first generation Flex’ion.

Designed for data centres and other mission critical UPS applications such as hospitals and industrial processes, the Flex’ion Gen2 is a modular and scalable battery system that is compact, lightweight and capable of operating continuously at high temperatures.

Guy-Patrick de Broglie, Marketing Director at Saft, said: “Data centre operators want UPS batteries that are safe, reliable, sustainable, powerful and long-lasting. We can provide that with our Flex’ion Gen2, which we can deliver with a short lead time, backed by a five-year warranty.”

Having passed rigorous testing under the UL 1973 and UL 9540A method, the Flex’ion Gen2 is certified as safe under the ICC International Fire Code (IFC 2018) and NFPA 855 standards. Its industrial design means that it is certified for use without a built-in fire suppression system or an air separation gap of three feet (approximately one meter) between cabinets, placing Flex’ion at the highest level of safety.

By eliminating this air gap, operators can minimise the footprint of their UPS and dedicate more space to server racks and other services. This minimises the space required and the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of the data centre overall.

Other factors that reduce the TCO are the long calendar life of over 20 years, the low maintenance and the lightweight design. Li-ion batteries are six times lighter than valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) batteries, which is important in buildings with limited load-bearing capacity.

In addition, Flex’ion Li-ion battery technology can operate reliably at high temperatures (35ºC), which reduces the Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning (HVAC) requirements, minimising energy bills and carbon emissions. Its low-cobalt content of less than 1% and primary materials sourced from responsible suppliers under the Responsible Materials Initiative (RMI) enables a highly sustainable and environmentally friendly system.

Saft has established a dedicated Flex’ion business line to provide customers with sales, factory and service support from system conception to end-of-life, as well as expert advice based on data gathered from the system’s advanced remote monitoring system.