Integrated power solutions company Cummins on April 10 launched its battery energy storage system (BESS) offering for the Southern African market, with its South African head office in Midrand set to host a C1500B5ZE BESS unit.

Speaking to Engineering News at the launch, Cummins new energy solutions director Ismael Chang said this unit is slated to be operational in about five months.

It will form part of the building’s power hub microgrid system, storing excess PV energy and eliminating curtailment.

This will enable it to supply night loads to the operation, thereby reducing grid and diesel use.

It is expected to result in savings on diesel, lower emissions and support net-zero goals, as well as improve reliance with a multi-source energy system. 

Moreover, this pioneer unit will serve as a demonstration of the product for the region.

Cummins’ plug-and-play, preconfigured BESS units have capacities ranging from 211 kWh to 2 280 kWh.

Housed in an ISO container, the units comprise a lithium-iron-phosphate battery system, an integrated power conversion system, an isolation transformer, a cooling system, a fire suppression system and an energy management system.

Cummins Southern Africa MD Victor Masuku pointed out that the Southern African market was characterised by increasing energy demand, grid instability and reliability challenges, rising energy costs and growing sustainability and decarbonisation commitments. In response, customers were seeking integrated energy solutions, with systems that were reliable, flexible and future-ready, he emphasised.

Masuku highlighted BESS as pivotal to this, as it supported renewable integration, provided backup and resilience, managed peak demand and enabled microgrids.

He acclaimed that the company’s BESS solutions were designed for safety and scalability, easy integration with generation assets and renewables and to support a wide range of commercial, industrial and mission‑critical applications.

Masuku also highlighted comprehensive testing and validation, and local Cummins Southern Africa support and service capability.

Cummins’ BESS was optimised for behind-the-meter applications, Cummins new energy solutions senior director Lucio Kroll said.

It aimed to offer an optimised energy solution by pairing with a genset, rather than replacing it, with the BESS responding faster to transient loads while the genset provides longer steady power, he explained.

In the short term, the units would not be localised, but the company may pursue this in the future as volumes grew and it scaled up in the region, Kroll indicated.

He pointed out that the adoption of BESS was growing at about 25% to 30% yearly.

Cummins saw considerable growth potential in Africa and believed it had the correct solutions to support this, Kroll mentioned.