Samsung SDI Rolls Out a System Designed to Prevent Power Outage and Cut Energy Costs

Samsung SDI has developed a new type of uninterruptible power supply (UPS) equipped with an intelligent power-saving mechanism that prevents power outages and saves on electricity bills.

The new system, called UES, incorporates the energy-saving feature of energy storage system (ESS) into UPS. Samsung SDI has started running the UES at its Uiwang R&D Center, marking the first-ever commercial operation of the system.

UES, a coinage of UPS and ESS, puts together their functionalities seamlessly, providing emergency power when the input power source fails and storing electricity during off-peak time to be used during on-peak hours.

If a power outage hits a production line, manufacturers are likely to face an increase in defects and also struggle with losses related to the extra time needed to restart the plant. To prevent such huge losses, the majority of factories, particularly those producing cutting-edge IT products, have adopted UPS that ensures stable power supply without interruption through a built-in battery.

Samsung SDI has installed lithium-ion cells and its proprietary energy management system (EMS) in its UPS, which allows for the two-way exchange of energy in a way that prevents power outages and reduces energy costs.

In addition, the newly developed UES has far fewer components than previous models. Compared with the installation of UPS and ESS with the same capacity, customers can secure cost savings of up to 30 percent by adopting UES.

Samsung SDI launched a special team in June 2013 to kick-start the development of UES. The company closely worked with its affiliate Samsung Electronics to design and develop the new type of UES that can meet the high standards to be used in semiconductor plants — one of the representative production facilities where the prevention of a power outage is extremely critical.

Samsung SDI selected the Uiwang R&D Center, where semiconductor material production line and chemical analysis equipment are located, as the first place for running the new UES. Samsung SDI started the installation in March and launched the full-fledged operation on April 1 this year. The new system is now preventing power outages and simultaneously saving energy costs at the Uiwang R&D Center.

The world’s first operation of the UES is expected to allow Samsung SDI to collect key data for marketing its innovate system on the global market amid the growing number of customers interested in UPS and the surging replacement demand.

IMS Research, a global research firm, forecast the global UPS market would rapidly expand from $10.4 Bil. in 2015 to $14.3 Bil. in 2020, chalking up the annual growth rate of 6.5 percent on the average.

In addition to the Uiwang R&D Center, Samsung SDI plans to install its UES in other Samsung affiliates in the second half of 2015. Utilizing the UES operation performances and data, the company will continue to expand its share on the global market.

Kim Woo-chan, Senior Vice President of Samsung SDI who leads the ESS Business Team, said “Up until recently, UES was regarded as a product still in the development or experimental stage, so Samsung SDI’s first-ever installation in a production line and the successful commercial operation are very meaningful.” He added “Samsung SDI will strive to nurture and expand the market by developing new business models as the top ESS provider.”