METKA unveils new tech to boost electricity access
METKA, the strategic business unit of Mytilineos S.A, an international Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor and industrial manufacturing group, said it is now ready to meet the challenges of the growing hybrid and off-grid power market in Nigeria.
This it planned to achieve through the launch of Exeron, a unique and innovative power conversion system that provides reliable power in non-electrified regions and unreliable grid locations. According to the company, the innovation is a result of the combination of resources and expertise of METKA and International Power Supply (IPS), designed to ensure uninterrupted power output through intelligent control of various energy sources, including solar panels, wind turbines, the electrical grid, and/or diesel generators.
The Head of Special Projects, Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Anita Otubu, said: “Our sole mission at the REA is to provide access to reliable electric power supply for rural dwellers, and the launch of Exeron in Nigeria is a welcome development as it would contribute significantly to the realization of our objectives.”
On how the system works, METKA Project Director, Dimitri os Tri ant afy ll opou los, said: “Exeron intelligently combines various power sources with battery storage to reliably provide baseload power. “Battery banks are used to store energy for later use at nighttime, for peak shaving during daytime or to pro- vide resilient energy to the load during grid outages. “It is an affordable and efficient solution suitable for a wide range of applications, including residential, industrial, oil and gas, telecommunications, defense and security.”
Detailing the features of the product, Operations Manager, METKA West Africa, Emmanuel Elegbe, noted: “Exeron is a complete energy management system. As such, no costs and time are needed for integrating parts from various manufacturers. The system comes pre-configured from the factory, allowing for quick and easy installation. “In addition, the intelligent battery management system is able to extend the life of the storage system up to 30 per cent. And because the system’s modular architecture allows load sharing between modules, the output power remains unaf- fected in the rare case of failu r e . “Another key advantage of EXERON is that the modular system can easily be scaled up to meet tomorrow’s energy needs; power upgrade takes just a few seconds and no tools are neede d . ” Off-grid applications represent a quickly growing segment of the global power solutions market, and Nigeria is no exception. To this end, the federal government instituted the REF to enable more private sector participation in power projects such as grid extension, interconnected minigrid, isolated mini-grid, isolated micro/nano grids and stand-alone systems. A minimum of $10,000 (N3.5 million) and maximum of $300,000 (N106 million), or 75 per cent of the total project cost, whichever was less, could be given as grant.