Introduction
EAS Germany GmbH manufactures large format cylindrical Lithium Ion cells in NCA and LFP at its facility in Nordhausen. Lithium Ion cells have been manufactured on this site since 1996, first by GAIA, later by Enersys.
Since January 2015, together with a strong strategic investor, EAS now wholly owns all of the cell production facilities and is in the process of refreshing all the cell technologies and manufacturing lines whilst also looking towards future technologies including NMC and prismatic cells.
Thanks to the flexibility of the production line, EAS can tailor cell designs and chemistries to the customer’s demands, making EAS a one-stop-shop for custom-made cells and battery modules for unique / extreme properties.
Marine Application
EAS cells are very robust, have a proven safety record and a long heritage of reliability in a range of applications. In this first press release, we aill look at one of EAS’s historically most important markets – Marine Applications
PlanetSolar
EAS will supply 4 new battery strings to the MS Tûranor – the largest solar boat ever built - that has been navigating around the planet running only on solar power for the last five years.
EAS’s 485Ah NCA cells are currently incorporated into a 1.2MWh battery – which needs to be replaced. In order to reduce weight, the new battery pack will be reduced by approximately 300kWh. EAS and PlanetSolar will ensure a second “stationary” life* for the used batteries after completing testing in Nordhausen.
* Second Life is a topic that has won many supporters amongst renewable energy proponents, but battery manufacturers are understandably cautious about how older batteries will perform when being switched from one application to another, governed by a totally different set of normative safety and EMC standards. EAS will therefore carefully evaluate its cells for this application.
MS Tûranor
Planet Solar hands over stewardship of the catamaran to the Race for Water foundation, who are dedicated to water preservation. The handover is performed during the COP21 summit in Paris. EAS is proud to be a part of the continuing story of MS Tûranor – the largest solar boat in the world.
U-Boat Worx
EAS is the preferred supplier to U-Boat Worx “the most advanced private submarines ever built” and is currently in negotiations with several other submarine applications. EAS has developed fully non-magnetic cells for unmanned submersible vehicles and is also working on even higher pressure resistant cells (up to 500 bar).
Exhibitions
EAS will attend the Düsseldorf Boat show in January 2016 and are taking bookings for appointments now. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to meet up at the show.
Distribution Partners
EAS has agreed a Distribution Partnership with BE-Power and are working on improving BE-Power’s successful marine batteries portfolio further to work with EAS cells.
Other News
EAS is pleased to welcome battery industry veteran, Gareth Hackett, as Head of Sales. Gareth started out in rechargeable batteries at Energizer Rechargeable Products in the UK back in 1994, before moving to Germany in 1996 with Energizer. Since then he has held senior positions in chargers (RRC) and power supply companies (SLPE), renewable energies / solar PV (JA, Hareon), EMS (Flextronics) and battery testers (Cadex).
Gareth recently completed his MBA studies with the UK’s Open University. His wealth of industry experience coupled with a high level of technical affinity and market understanding will be put to great use, helping customers achieve the best solution for their applications.