Saft Provides Smart Battery Storage for Schüco’s Intelligent Solar Energy Management Solution

MUNICH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Saft, the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of high‐technology batteries for industry, is providing Lithium-ion (Li-ion) based smart storage solutions for Schüco's innovative Energy Manager in-building PV energy storage system. The new system, on show at Intersolar 2012, will be made commercially available this summer.

“Saft's leading Li-ion technology, engineering competence and industrial capability make a vital contribution to the efficiency and reliability of this leading-edge solution.”

Schüco is a leading provider of in-building energy management solutions including photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal systems. The Energy Manager is already receiving a high level of interest from operators who want to optimize their on-site generation and use of solar electricity. As a result, Saft estimates that there could be a need for several thousand battery systems a year for Schüco.

"Smart energy management solutions demand smart energy storage," says Dr. Thomas Schlenker head of the technical department New Energies at Schüco International KG. "Saft's leading Li-ion technology, engineering competence and industrial capability make a vital contribution to the efficiency and reliability of this leading-edge solution."

Schüco Energy Manager provides intelligent control of a building’s energy

The Schüco Energy Manager intelligently determines if energy should be stored, consumed or sold back to the grid. The system control unit detects how much self-generated electricity is available and combines this information with data from external sources. Electricity is only exported when production exceeds storage capacity.

The system has undergone extensive functional tests and is being certified by German authorities in order to comply with stringent safety rules.

Two customer options of 4 kWh and 8 kWh

The battery system for Schüco comes in two sizes for the customer of 4 kWh and 8 kWh. They have been developed to offer extremely efficient and flexible energy storage all year round to support the highly dynamic charge and discharge cycling profiles found in renewable applications, with the added advantage of a 20 year service life.

Schüco – Green Technology for the Blue Planet

That means clean energy from solar products and windows. And the contribution that Schüco makes to the environment with pioneering building envelopes. To be more precise, with Energy³: saving energy – generating energy – networking energy. Window and façade systems not only save energy due to optimum thermal insulation, they also generate energy thanks to efficient solar solutions. This creates an excess of energy which can be used by means of intelligent networking. For building functions, as well as for everyday life. The result is a significant step towards energy self-sufficiency – towards the sustainable conservation of natural resources. And towards a secure future. With 5,250 employees and 12,000 partner companies, Schüco is active in 78 countries and achieved turnover of 2.38 billion euros in 2010.

For more information, please visit www.schueco.com

About Saft

Saft (Euronext: Saft) is a world leader in the design and manufacture of advanced technology batteries for industry. The Group is the world’s leading manufacturer of nickel batteries and primary lithium batteries for the industrial infrastructure and processes, transportation, civil and military electronics’ markets. Saft is the world leader in space and defence batteries with its Li‐ion technologies which are also being deployed in the energy storage, transportation and telecommunication markets. Saft’s 4,000 employees present in 19 countries, its 16 manufacturing sites and extensive sales network all contribute to accelerating the Group’s growth for the future.

For more information, please visit Saft at www.saftbatteries.com