Controllis has developed a carbon neutral site power system to help support a net zero emissions economy, established by the Paris Agreement. The new system, Controllis Zero will allow off-grid and poor-grid sites to produce cleaner energy overall by replacing their dependency on fossil fuels with an eco-friendly biofuel alternative.

Based on Controllis’ Modular48 DC power system, (which already reduces carbon emissions by up to 90 per cent by harnessing solar power and rechargeable lithium ion batteries), Controllis Zero will allow MNOs and tower companies to overcome the final ten per cent of the CO2 emissions challenge. 

Controllis has been able to achieve this carbon-neutral status by considering the carbon cycle process in its entirety and adapting its unique DC generator technology to run on E100 bioethanol instead of diesel. All this is accomplished without compromising network uptime.

According to the GSMA, there are more than one million off-grid/poor-grid telecoms sites in use globally, which combined are generating a carbon footprint greater than countries such as Nepal, Cambodia and Cameroon. By leveraging the environmental benefits of biofuels and supporting ethically approved CO2 offsetting processes such as tree planting or renewable energy sources for remote communities, Controllis Zero is poised to help large Telco’s meet their legal, shareholder and green obligations.

“With global warming increasing and net zero targets looming, companies are under increasing pressure to operate in a more sustainable way,”explained Simon Albury, managing director of Controllis.“ Controllis Zero has been developed with efficiency initiatives such as OFGEM’s ECO in mind and any CO2 released during energy production is offset by a carbon-neutral biofuel manufacturing process.”

The Controllis Zero biofuel lifecycle

  • The manufacture of E100 bioethanol during the plant growth stage is carbon negative because CO2 is converted into oxygen by photosynthesis 
  • CO2 emissions during bioethanol fermentation and distillation are counterbalanced by ethical offset programs supported by the United Nations 
  • E100 bioethanol is shipped to different locations using the greenest modes of land and sea transport. The emissions for the transport phase are also offset.
  • Controllis’ hybrid solar lithium ion solution is the principal power source up to 90 per cent of the time. The remaining ten per cent is produced by Controllis’ bioethanol-powered generator 

Controllis Zero also comprises powerful and secure remote monitoring and analytical tools, giving onsite and offsite maintenance teams meaningful and actionable insights into all aspects of the system’s power output and performance levels in real time.

Controllis Zero will be commercially available from Q1 2020.