Shell floating LNG facility selects Alcad UPS technology 20 January 2014

Ultra-low maintenance nickel battery systems are to provide standby power for Shell's Prelude, the world's first FLNG (floating liquefied natural gas) facility, currently under construction in Australia's Browse Basin.

Alcad has been awarded a contract worth eur 1 million by UPS (uninterruptable power system) specialist Emerson Network Power to design, manufacture and supply the systems, which will protect critical automation systems, fire and gas detection systems, telecommunications and emergency lighting.

The battery systems, comprising thousands of Alcad cells, will be installed in four battery rooms, and have been specified to provide between one and four hours' of operation, if the main generators fail, over a 20-year lifespan.

Alcad says its battery technology does not suffer from the 'sudden death' failure problem that can affect lead-acid batteries. It also says they use controlled gas recombination and a valve-regulated venting system, so they never need topping up with water.

Another claimed advantage is their compact design – especially important for the Shell project as, despite its impressive proportions, the facility is one-quarter the size of an equivalent plant on land.

Brian Tinham

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