As 5G continues its rollout, there are many considerations for configuring optimum DC power systems that are crucial for 5G’s infrastructure success. In this article, our John Ely, discusses how highly reliable, robust and scalable DC power systems are required to solve complex power challenges. Click on the EE Power logo to read the full article.
Find out more about our solutions in our Telecom/Datacom brochure.
As several factors across the industry are driving the adoption of electric ground support equipment, many manufacturers are finding success within this segment.
The FAA recently awarded more than $20 million in grants to reduce emissions and improve air quality at airports across the country.
The awards are intended to fund zero-emission airport vehicles as well as electric charging infrastructure and aim to electrify ground support equipment (GSE).
This funding is among the latest initiatives prompting the adoption of electric ground support equipment (eGSE). Environmental goals established by governments, industry organizations, airports, airlines and individual ground service providers are also lending themselves to eGSE.
With a focus on reducing ground emissions on the ramp, many manufacturers across the market are finding solutions to benefit the GSE industry.
Read the complete article in AviationPros
Industrial rack-mounted uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) are used in data centers or telecom central offices to provide backup power for servers and switching equipment in the event of failure. Historically, these UPS’s have relied on Lead Acid as the predominant battery type. With the introduction of the Open Compute Project (OCP) initiative and hyperscale data centers, Lithium-ion batteries are gaining market share over the incumbent Lead Acid battery technology.
This article presents some of the thermal considerations and trade-offs when selecting a Lithium-ion UPS system to complement your data center equipment. There are two available chemistry options Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) and Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (NMC). Operators need to consider expected discharge time, active versus passive cooling, options for scalability, and the expected lifetime of the batteries.
Read the full article in Data Center Dynamics
Green Cubes Technology supplies lithium-based power systems for GSE, an alternative to both diesel engines with their damaging emissions, and lead acid battery systems. Jerry Crump, director of business development, explains the benefits.
Read the inteview in Airside International
KOKOMO, INDIANA Sept 8, 2021 – Green Cubes Technology (Green Cubes), the leader in producing Lithium-ion (Li-ion) power systems that facilitate the transition from lead acid batteries and Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) power to green Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery power, today announced the patent award for a multi-cell management device for Li-ion batteries. This patent is relevant to industrial motive battery applications, such as material handling and ground support aviation equipment.
These demanding applications require large battery arrays with many Li-ion cells in series and parallel in order to achieve high power and capacity for multi-shift usage. The electronics managing the battery’s communication and safety must enable a robust design that will last for thousands of cycles over many years in harsh conditions.
Battery packs consisting of multiple cell lithium batteries can become unstable as the individual cells age and the voltage output from each cell begins to vary with respect to other cells during operation. Balancing the output of individual cells ensures safe operation of the battery system and improves the performance and life expectancy of multi-cell battery packs. With this multi-cell management device, each cell is monitored with a Battery Management Systems (BMS) that measures the voltage of each serial connected cell. Active power control functions balance cell voltage output during charging and discharging operation. With this technology, the elimination of wires and connections to each cell significantly reduces wiring costs and system complexity. The inventors named on patent 11,063,445 are Anthony Cooper of Kokomo, IN, USA and Vasanth Mithilacody of Bangalore, India. For a full description of the patent, read more here.
“Our customers demand the reliability and performance in very demanding use profiles,” said Robin Schneider, Director of Marketing, of Green Cubes. “This new generation BMS with robust cell balancing is designed to last the life of a forklift and is based on a decade of experience and engineering”
As a leader motive power, Green Cubes continues to invent new and better technology. The latest innovations offered in their motive Li-ion batteries include features such as multi-voltage fast charging, dual CANbus communication, and wireless IoT features in addition to continuous improvements such as this new generation BMS with cell balancing for improved reliability.
Dunlap, TN – September, 03 2021: Green Cubes will be exhibiting at Battcon 2021, November 2-5 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida!
Battcon is an educational venue where users, engineers and manufacturers stay up-to-date by learning of the latest industry trends and how to apply best practices to the manufacturing, safety, selection, installation, and use of stationary batteries.
The core conference provides an intense learning experience. Presentations include cutting edge topics delivered by industry leading authorities. Open discussion panels and breakout workshops geared to the utility, data center and telecom segments are also included in the conference.
Data center, telecom or utility industry professionals who are working in mission critical facilities or are involved in the development of stationary batteries and related equipment will find the Battcon experience is second to none.
Industrial rack-mounted uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) are used in data centers or telecom central offices to provide backup power for servers and switching equipment in the event of failure. Historically, UPSs have relied on lead acid as the predominant battery type. With the introduction of the Open Compute Project (OCP) initiative and hyperscale data centers, lithium-ion batteries are gaining market share over the incumbent lead acid battery technology.
Read the full article in MISSION CRITICAL Magazine
With multiple formats and configurable voltage options, motive lithium-ion batteries that can be retrofitted into existing vehicles and charging infrastructures, without expensive investments in facilities, have become drop-in replacements for lead-acid batteries. Jeff VanZwol, chief marketing at Green Cubes Technology explores the market.
Read the full article in BEST Magazine
Jerry has been in the industry for 22 years, 13 years of that has been adapting fleets to E-GSE. In the interview they cover a number of topics including; how Lithium batteries for GSE can power a fleet with long-lasting, reliable power, airport Infrastructure hurdles, GSE issues post covid, the need for Airports, Operators, Energy Companies & GSE providers to collaborate, zero emission ramps, People – Profit – Planet, Carbon footprint reductions and Sustainability.
You can listen to the Podcast here or watch the full interview on YouTube.
KOKOMO, INDIANA July 21, 2021 – Green Cubes Technology (Green Cubes), the leader in producing Lithium-ion (Li-ion) power systems that facilitate the transition from lead acid batteries and Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) power to green Li-ion battery power, appointed Ken Johnson as Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the company. Mr. Johnson reports to Keith Washington, President and CEO of Green Cubes, supporting all business units and operations.
Mr. Johnson provides leadership to supply chain, operations, and manufacturing roles to build processes for continued growth for Green Cubes within Telecom, Materials Handling, and Industrial Automation markets. Mr. Johnson will manage Green Cube’s production facilities in Malaysia, Slovakia, Kokomo (Indiana), and Dunlap (Tennessee).
“Ken has led both domestic and international operations and supply chains through new product introduction, lean transformations, inventory reductions and overall working capital improvement,” said Mr. Washington. “I am confident his experience and focused vision will help Green Cubes successfully execute its continued growth within strategic markets and geographic locations.”
Mr. Johnson has a history of success in energy storage and power electronics technology as an operations leader with a demonstrated track record of success in these markets, spending over 25 years in global manufacturing and supply chain with companies such as IBM, Danaher, Eaton and Active Power. The range of products manufactured under Mr. Johnson’s supervision includes personal computers, motors, DC power systems and single phase/three phase complex Uninterruptable Power System (UPS). Mr. Johnson graduated with a Bachelor of Science and Master of Engineering degree from Texas A&M in Industrial Engineering.
Patent-pending MultiVoltage technology enables the battery to charge at double its output voltage, which cuts charging time in half and makes opportunity charging a more accessible option with simplicity and ease of use for the operator.
Patent-pending MultiVoltage technology enables charging at double the batteries’ output voltage, halving the charge time and increasing productivity. Applicable to the material handling market, Green Cubes Technology’s MultiVoltage battery completes a full charge in less than one hour and is offered in 24/48 V, 36/72 V and 48/96 V combinations.
Green Cubes has deployed over 200 MultiVoltage batteries across these three different voltage combinations. It is common for high use and high capacity batteries, such as a large 48-V battery, to be charged with two cables to increase the charge current. The MultiVoltage battery utilizes single connector 4/0 cabling in a charge port configuration, which delivers cost efficiencies and minimizes the chance of cable damage over traditional fast charging with dual cables. In addition, due to the lower insertion and extraction forces of the single connector equipment, operators appreciate the MultiVoltage systems over their dual cable counterparts.
“The ability to opportunity charge is a key feature of Li-ion batteries’ value proposition for material handling equipment,” said Anthony Cooper, General Manager of Green Cubes’ Motive Group. “MultiVoltage SAFEFlex batteries accommodate an even faster charging time which widens the performance gap between Li-ion and Lead Acid Batteries. Our class 2, 36-V products, have been extremely popular for Reach Trucks because they are very highly utilized and recognize the benefits.”
Other than the battery configuration itself, the MultiVoltage battery uses standard chargers and requires no changes to the equipment. Lithium SAFEFlex is the integration of lithium-iron=phosphate cells, electronics, packaging and a software platform that was designed specifically for the rugged requirements of material handling. The advanced mechanical packaging meets the impact forces of a large forklift and the rugged automotive-grade Battery Management System (BMS) makes Lithium SAFEFlex the most reliable lithium battery for the material handling industry. With MultiVoltage technology, a quick coffee or lunch break can be used to charge a battery, keeping material handling equipment in full utilization.
See the original news article in Design World
At Green Cubes (formerly branded as UNIPOWER), we hang our hats on our reliability and robust designs. The following article comes directly from the field where we support the U.S. military and their communications equipment. Read how our Sageon DC power systems are the de facto standard for our military customers because reliability matters most of all. The post is from someone who really knows the need for reliability firsthand, and he is one of our partners – Michael Shillinger, a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel!
Working with governmental agencies such as the FAA and major defense contractors for the military, there is no room for compromise – especially when it comes to powering sensitive electronic and communications equipment. Due to their criticality and cannot-fail requirements, D.C. power systems must work the first time, every time. In partnering with the Krydon Group, our Sageon systems are being deployed in installations across the globe and often in very remote locations to solve complex challenges for critical government infrastructure at:
For most applications, the government looks for tried-and-true equipment with a long-proven track record of reliability, like our Sageon DC Power Systems and battery chargers made in Dunlap, Tennessee. For example, working with the Army often requires power solutions that are precisely customized with redundancy and the highest level of reliability (backed by ISO9001 Certification). Krydon’s dedicated team of technicians and engineers oversees the installation, validation and load testing in theater to ensure all systems are functioning to spec.
“The Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and other agencies all know that the Green Cubes Sageon Systems and associated batteries are rock solid,” noted Michael F. Shillinger, vice president of engineering for the Krydon Group. As a retired Lieutenant Colonel from the U.S. Army and a veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq, Shillinger knows firsthand how critical it is to have the equipment – especially communications systems – always at the ready. On the rare occasion a question occurs, the folks at Krydon and Green Cubes are available to take the call at any hour of the day to quickly address any challenge.
Qualified for the “Buy American Act” program, GSA Advantage! and DoD projects, our Sageon family of DC Power Systems offer hot-swap rectifiers with 90% plus efficiency, battery monitoring and testing, and a wide operating temperature range from 40ºF to 158ºF. In addition, Green Cube’s ARE-M Battery Chargers offer 24V to 250V output, minimal maintenance, remote communications, temperature compensation and more.
For military installations, customization of our systems is a must to address specific form factors. Power shelves, power distribution components, enclosures, wiring and other components are built or sourced to meet tight specifications. Training in theater is another key aspect of the Green Cubes-Krydon team. Setting up the power systems properly and fully understanding D.C. equipment operation requires experience with both the equipment and the highly specialized applications in which they are deployed.
We are proud to work with the Krydon Group (a member of the Society of American Military Engineers and the Armed Forces Communications-Electronics Association (AFCEA) to integrate and support our power systems for mission-critical defense programs.
Green Cubes is a great company, great engineers, great product. That’s been kind of my number one go to [lithium] battery.
The thing I like about Green Cubes is that they have other lines of business outside of material handling batteries, they have been in the lithium world for a long time. I can trust they will likely stay in business
Green Cubes [differentiates] on its capability to custom design for things like the hardware, the firmware, and inverters. They also have economies of scale because they make battery systems for things like forklifts.
I am doing some work with them right now. We’re learning their products, and looking at demos. They have good people. They seem like they know the technology well – they say they’re a technology company. I like that they’ve been in the lithium business a long time. I can trust they will likely stay in business.
Green Cubes Technology would be my go-to for lithium applications.
I’ve told my friends at Green Cubes, I don’t plan on going anywhere. I believe in loyalty.
