Energy storage systems for the UAE’s industries

UAE

Waseem Qureshi, chairman and CEO of Enercap Holdings, talks to The Energy Year about developing battery solutions for ADNOC to substitute diesel power in rigs and the cost savings that can be obtained from deploying storage systems. Enercap Holdings is a group of companies that develop and deploy technologies for energy storage, EV charging and power control systems applications.

What gaps has Enercap Holdings identified in global energy markets, and how has the company endeavoured to fill them?
In 2009, I recognised a gap in the medium-scale solar energy market, so I developed a system in the UAE to address the high-energy demands of air conditioning and other heavy loads that traditional solar systems couldn’t handle. This led to the creation of the MICC [monitor inverter, converter and charger] system, which was load-independent and catered to homes as well as to commercial and industrial applications.
With no set grid policy in the UAE at the time, we deployed off-grid systems relying on lead-acid batteries. However, these batteries faced significant challenges, including slow charging, inefficiency and temperature sensitivity. This prompted us to shift toward non-chemical energy storage solutions.
We identified supercapacitors – electrochemical energy storage devices – as a promising solution due to their fast charging and discharging capabilities, high efficiency, long life and resistance to extreme temperatures. However, we still had to tackle four major challenges, which we successfully overcame and patented.
Having resolved those issues, we built a battery which uses supercapacitors as a medium of storage, allowing for quick power management and a response time of 1 nanosecond. To demonstrate operational viability and counter certain scepticism, we developed a prototype which attracted interest from investors in the US, leading to the foundation of the company after raising significant funds.
Between 2013-2016, we focused on designing, developing and testing the product in different parts of the world. Subsequently, we embarked on a nine-year journey involving inventing the technology, creating a product, rolling it out globally and, most importantly, developing manufacturing techniques for mass production.
During this time, we matured the product in 57 countries and established a pilot production plant. Although our growth was organic, it was much faster than that of any of our competitors, putting us ahead of them by 4-5 years.

What have been some of the most important technological achievements in this process?
I would like to highlight the development and use of synthetic graphene in our supercapacitors as one of our most significant technological achievements. Initially, we used natural, mined graphene, which used to cost USD 32,000 per tonne. We sourced from China, so we were producing the supercapacitors there as well.
As prices increased, so did the premium on our product. Hence, during the Covid-19 lockdown, we concentrated our R&D efforts on developing synthetic graphene, a breakthrough that significantly enhanced our supercapacitors’ energy density.
Graphene’s large surface area is ideal for storing electrons, but its high cost previously limited our usage. In comparison, synthetic graphene is much cheaper and has enabled us to increase our energy capacity from around 11 Wh per kilogram to 460 Wh per kilogram.

Can you share some of your key goals for 2025?
We are entering the final stage of the commercialisation of our batteries through our JV with Apex Investments. Through this partnership, we plan to establish factories worldwide, enabling mass production of supercapacitors and making them accessible to everyone everywhere.
We are developing the first factory pilot project in Abu Dhabi. It will be a fully automated and robotic plant. We have also signed JV contracts in other parts of the world and will continue with Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, South Africa and the US. We are doing a lot of testing with some very sensitive US departments, and we anticipate positive results which will lead us to establishing a factory there.

How much investment is required for each of these factories?
Our production infrastructure has become significantly more cost-effective over time. Our factory system is 10 times cheaper to establish than the billions of dollars required for lithium-ion or other chemical technologies. Cost efficiency makes our product much more competitive, and we are becoming more competitive in terms of capex, which was the biggest hurdle for our product, compared to chemical batteries.
The reason for partnering with Apex was their strong funding capabilities. We believed they would be a strong partner able to meet all our financial needs, and they have successfully done so thus far. With their support, we can focus on our core competencies without worrying about funding, which is critical for any entrepreneur or startup.
Having designed, developed and manufactured the product, we are now in the final stage of commercialisation. We are also receiving support from major consultancy firms. McKinsey & Company is assisting us in navigating the market, securing investors, finding factory joint venture partners and accessing geographies worldwide

What solutions do you offer to diesel generator users?
Covid-19 allowed us to close a strategic partnership with e&, a UAE state-owned telecommunications company. We had already done a proof of concept with them, installing a battery system for diesel generator optimisation. Our battery’s long life and ability to cycle at high C-rates, even in extreme temperatures, led us to develop an application for telecom companies whose remote sites ran on diesel generators.
We charged the batteries for one hour and then ran the load on batteries for four hours, cycling this process up to five times daily. This approach saved five hours of diesel operation, reduced diesel consumption by 53%, decreased emissions and lowered maintenance costs.
We continued the proof of concept throughout the lockdown and, when life returned to normal, the customer reviewed the systems and recognised that the results were immense. They announced that they would not be using any other type of chemical battery and even categorised our product as a green battery, which helped them achieve their carbon credits.
Now, we are scaling up our system for larger applications. Initially designed for BTS [base transceiver station] towers with 30-Kw generators and 3-Kw loads, we are expanding the use of our batteries to the oil and gas sector, specifically to rig power systems with diesel generators up to 6 MW and up to 3 MWh of storage.
We will deploy our first proof of concept with ADNOC, and we anticipate impressive results. I am confident that ADNOC’s management will be very pleased with the performance, and our system will significantly reduce emissions and enhance the sustainability of power generation in the oil and gas sector.

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