New Subsea Ready Battery Solutions Safely Power Underwater Vehicles and Offshore Oil and Gas Infrastructure with 4X More Energy

HOUSTON, Jan. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Two subsea ready, Li Ion battery products announced today by battery solutions innovator Southwest Electronic Energy Group (SWE), break new ground with 4x longer deployments and 8x more charge cycles than lead acid batteries while delivering uncompromising safety.   SWE SeaSafe™ products will power the entire range of modern subsea vehicles from MUVs (manned underwater vehicles) to ROVs (Remote Operated Vehicles) to AUVs (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles) and offshore Oil and Gas infrastructure electronics and actuators.   SeaSafe battery products are available commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) for fast time to market with configure-to-order flexibility that scales to customers' individual voltage and amp-hour capacity needs in modular increments.   Popular configurations will be pre-certified for UN/DOT Transportation and other industry standards as appropriate, further speeding customer's time to market while reducing cost and risk. 

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SWE SeaSafe™ Smart Battery Modules

The first product is the new SWE SeaSafe™ Smart Battery Module:  Easy to use battery building blocks for customers to integrate in their own pressure equalized enclosures.  Modules are available in either 29V or 24V sizes.  Each module delivers a capacity of 28Ah when charged to 90% state of charge.  

"Smart Modules are connected in series for configure-to-order voltage and in parallel for configure-to-order amp-hour capacity," said Leon Adams, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at SWE.  "Our customers can build battery systems with one to four Smart Modules for O&G infrastructure or as many as 64 Smart Modules for over 230V and over 200Ah to power subsea vehicles."   

Designed for best in class safety and high reliability, each Smart Module is autonomous (self-sufficient) with its own SWE patented BMS (battery management system) containing advanced algorithms for automatic and continuous safety protection, charge control and balancing.   This protection prevents unsafe operation, protects the battery modules from damage and prolongs module life.  State of Charge percentage is configurable at time of order to fit the mission life and load profile of the customer's application.   This enables battery lifetimes of more than 10,000 charge cycles and 10 years.   Charging SeaSafe Smart Modules is simplified because special chargers are not needed.   Users can charge with standard power supplies such as a 1500W Lambda Genesis model.  Modules are pressure tolerant to 6000m ocean depth and can be charged and discharged subsea.   Rapid charge is possible in as little as two hours. 

"Modern subsea equipments require Li Ion for its superior energy density and ability to maintain more capacity at colder subsea temperatures," said David White Senior Battery Technologist at SWE.   "SWE SeaSafe™ Smart Modules deliver the full value of Li-Ion breakthrough performance managed by our patented BMS to levels of safety, reliability and flexibility that far surpass older sealed lead acid batteries."            

SWE SeaSafe™ Battery Systems

Building on the strength of the SeaSafe Smart Module is a second product, the new SWE SeaSafe™ Battery System.  Designed for customers needing a complete power solution in a subsea ready pressure equalized case, the system holds up to four Smart Modules.  The SeaSafe Battery System case is built rugged with 316 stainless steel and pressure validated down to a 6000m sea depth.   

Customers can configure-to-order SeaSafe Battery System voltage and capacity up to 130Vmax and 112Ah in each case.   Seacon WET-CON connectors come standard; ODI and others are optional.    Battery System cases are stackable for even more voltage and amp-hour capacity. 

SeaSafe Observer PC Software

SeaSafe Observer PC software is a powerful support tool to monitor the status of  SeaSafe Smart Modules or SeaSafe Battery Systems.   A simple red/yellow/green stoplight lets the operator know at a glance if the battery is in good operating condition, simply needs a charge or requires maintenance to be scheduled.  An easy to read dashboard of gauges provides amp-hour capacity, voltage, temperature and current along with alert messages.  Observer can deliver status at the battery system level or more detailed at the module level depending on operator need.   Information can be retrieved real-time during the mission or after the mission is completed, whichever is most convenient.  Communications bus and protocol are RS485/MODBUS.  Real-time monitoring and an active communications bus is not needed for safe operation of the battery.     

Industry First 5 Year Limited Warranty

SWE SeaSafe™ Smart Modules are backed by an industry first 5 year limited warranty and attentive customer service.  Availability is 10 weeks ARO.   Please contact SWE for pricing.   SeaSafe Battery Systems in the pressure equalized case are available for delivery later this year.         

About SWE
SWE has been a quality supplier to the Oil and Gas industry since 1964 including 20 years of ruggedized Lithium battery products and 13 years of Lithium-Ion battery products.  The SWE corporate campus is headquartered near Houston with over 55,000 square feet of state of the art R&D and ISO 9001 certified manufacturing.  At SWE, our focus is on quality, customer service and reliability in every facet of our business.        

More information can be found at http://www.swe.com/seasafe

SOURCE Southwest Electronic Energy Group