Falcon Cranes has purchased an initial five Voltpack battery systems made by Northvolt, which supplies automotive batteries to BMW, Volkswagen, Volvo and Scania.
The Northvolt Voltpack is an energy storage system that is designed to power cranes and other heavy equipment on construction sites It works by storing energy from a mains supply or renewable sources, such as solar panels or wind turbines, in a battery. This stored energy can then be used to power cranes and other equipment on construction sites, reducing the need for diesel or petrol generators.
The Northvolt Voltpack is designed to be modular, which means that it can be scaled up or down depending on the needs of the construction site. It is made up of individual battery modules that can be combined to provide between 281kWH and 1,405kWh of power.
Falcon managing director Andrew Brown says that it is this scalability that makes it different from other battery systems emerging on UK construction sites, as used by the likes of Keltbrayand Laing O’Rourke.
Falcon Cranes will be using the Northvolt Voltpack to power its tower cranes and other heavy equipment on construction sites across the UK to reduce operating costs and offer a cleaner way to power cranes.
Falcon Cranes also uses Punch Flybrid flywheel systems to manage surges in power demands on construction sites. [See previous report here.]
Andrew Brown said that Falcon intends to purchase more Voltpacks in the second half of this year.
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