ELe’s POD was tested for five months by engineers at the University of Manchester revealing POD could power 30 computers for seven hours a day over 2,830 consecutive days. Tony McDonough reports.

Merseyside technology firm Extreme Low Energy (ELe) has developed a battery system capable of powering a suite of computers for almost eight years.

Formby-based ELe’s POD was tested for five months by engineers at the University of Manchester.

The tests showed POD could power 30 computers for seven hours a day over 2,830 consecutive days (7.75 years) before the battery capacity dropped to 80%.

The pioneering low energy system – which can also act as a back-up generator – is attracting interest from schools in developing African nations.

The POD stores energy in high-performance lithium-ion batteries, charging overnight to make use of off-peak energy tariffs before supplying power to ELe’s suite of low energy PCs and monitors.

When used in conjunction with a low-energy computing suite, ELe claims its POD can help organisations save at least 70% in energy costs.

Dr Rebecca Todd, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at The University of Manchester, said: “We applied our findings specifically to consider the use of the ELe POD in educational establishments, and concluded that an average school should be able to use the POD system for over 14 years before the battery reaches 80% capacity.”

Mark Buchanan, founder of ELe, added: “As a specialist in the manufacturing of energy storage technologies and alternative energy generation devices the POD is just one innovative product we offer to help customers operate partially or fully off-grid.

“We were confident about the longevity of our POD before the testing – but the findings certainly impressed us.”