‘Pakistan can save $1 billion with new technology’

A local startup has introduced a modern battery technology, called “Super Capacitor Energy Storage Module”, which has 25 times higher capacity than traditional batteries. Talking to media on Friday, Energy and Automation (ENA) Director Faisal Murad emphasised that the new “environmentfriendly” battery technology could save around $1 billion for Pakistan by curbing imports of traditional lowcapacity batteries. He underlined that the Chinese military had been using this technology for decades, and quite recently they made it available for the market and exports.

Explaining the mechanism, he underlined that traditional batteries of 800 mAh (milli-Amperehours) capacity - which gave a backup of around four hours - could be charged/ discharged by up to 1,200 cycles. However, the battery containing super capacitor could be “charged/ discharged by up to 250,000 cycles”, he claimed.

Murad highlighted that the startup, registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), was eying to collaborate with a local company to produce the batteries in Pakistan, which would “make the product more viable and create employment opportunities”. “Our philosophy is to sell the solution, not the box (equipment),” Murad remarked.

He revealed that recently banks were aiming to make their branches “generatorfree” given the surging cost of fuel in the country. “A normal generator at a bank uses five to six litres of fuel per hour,” he said. Considering the current price of fuel, banks/ companies could save around $200 million by using this modern technology, he calculated. Banks/ companies could increase their efficiency by installing this technology, as their systems would not shut down due to electricity load-shedding, especially in remote areas of the country, he maintained.

Giving details of the technology, ENA CEO Amir Salman explained that in usual valve-regulated lead-acis batteries , the “capacitor charges battery and discharges immediately”. “ While, this new technology prevents the capacitor from depleting the charge fast,” he added. The new battery had a life span of 45 years and it took only one hour to charge, he maintained.