How Vodafone’s Smart Energy Initiatives Power Connectivity
Vodafone is one of the world’s largest and most widely-recognised mobile networks.
The Vodafone Group has mobile operations in 22 countries, partners with mobile networks in 42 more and provides fixed broadband in 17 markets.
The amount of mobile and fixed services users that rely on its services surpasses 330 million.
In Czechia, Vodafone is revolutionising the telecommunications industry further with not one but with two groundbreaking smart energy initiatives.
These projects aim at enhancing network resilience and contributing to grid stability.
These innovative projects, the Distributed Energy Storage System (DESS) and Adaptive Power Backup, are set to redefine how mobile networks operate during power outages while simultaneously supporting the broader energy ecosystem.
Vodafone: Enabling intelligent energy management
Vodafone's DESS initiative in Czechia marks a significant step towards harnessing the untapped potential of mobile network infrastructure.
This software-based system allows Vodafone to supply grid providers with spare capacity from backup batteries housed within its mobile base stations.
The pilot scheme is testing at select mobile sites and utilises batteries capable of providing approximately 7.2KWh of energy.
Following the pilot, Vodafone plans to scale the project across its vast network of 85,000 radio base stations and over 200 mobile core data centres in nine countries — which would create the largest pan-European distributed energy storage system.
“The energy crisis has highlighted we must work together — as governments, businesses and society — to change how we produce and consume energy,” Ahmed Essam, CEO European Markets at Vodafone, says.
Intelligent energy management and grid balancing
A key feature of the DESS is its incorporation of AI models to forecast mobile site traffic accurately.
This predictive capability enables Vodafone to:
- Estimate future energy consumption of each tower
- Intelligently allocate precise amounts of backup battery power for grid balancing services
- Switch quickly from the main grid to battery power during peak load times, reducing electricity costs
The integration of Vodafone's battery network into the electricity value chain opens up new possibilities in energy markets.
Energy trading allows Vodafone to participate in energy trading markets, potentially creating new revenue streams, while grid balancing — also known as frequency regulation, which involves real-time matching of electricity consumption to production — allows Vodafone to help energy companies avoid grid congestion and manage peak loads.
Vodafone’s Adaptive Power Backup
Vodafone's Adaptive Power Backup initiative intelligently extends base station battery life during power outages.
This system, operational in Greece and being tested in South Africa, remotely shuts down non-essential equipment while maintaining crucial communication channels.
Using an 'intelligent breaker', Vodafone has doubled battery life in Greece, extending it from three-and-a-half hours to seven-and-a-half hours during heavy traffic and from 4.8 to eight hours during lighter periods.
The technology prioritises emergency services, voice calls and text messages over high-bandwidth services like social media videos.
The result? This solution ensures continued connectivity without additional batteries, proving valuable in disaster-prone areas of Europe and African markets experiencing load shedding.
Maintaining vital communication links
As much as this is initiative is about contributing positively to the redistribution of energy, Vodafone’s ambitions support the telco’s aim to maintain vital communication links for customers, wider communities and emergency services in the event of a humanitarian or environmental disaster across Europe and Africa.
The company's mobile stations increasingly serve societal purposes, with sensors on masts, for example, monitoring environmental conditions. Some stations even provide secure nesting sites for protected bird species, including Peregrine Falcons.
“We support communities, especially those in need, leaving no-one behind,” Vodafone says.
This multifaceted approach opens up opportunities for future innovations in telecommunications and community support while underpinning energy efficiency, energy conservation and giving back.
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