GreenA Unique Engine Is Bringing Power to a RemotePhilippine Island
By Dan Murtaugh
June 1, 2020, 4:00 PM GMT+3
Updated on June 2, 2020, 3:55 AM GMT+3

Aquarius Engines, Nokia to partner on small electric generator
Single piston design only needs maintenance every 1,000 hours
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An Israeli startup is hoping a new engine design can help bring power to remote outposts inAsia.

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Aquarius Engines Ltd. announced a partnership with Nokia Oyj on Monday and plans tobegin ﬁeld tests in the Philippines this year for a small-scale electrical generator using its
unique low-maintenance design.

Photo courtesy of David Katz/Aquarius Engines

The company is targeting far-ﬂung locations in Asia to power remote populations andtelecommunications centers. The ﬁeld test in the Philippines is expected to begin this year
and run several months, providing the company with feedback as it prepares for mass
production, said Gal Fridman, Aquarius’s chairman.

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The generators can power commercial and industrial sectors that need around-the-clock
electricity in remote spots, or help support wind and solar generation when the sun goes
down or breezes halt. It underscores the increased attention businesses are paying to oﬀgrid power, which drew nearly $1 billion in corporate investments during the previous twoyears combined, according to Wood Mackenzie Ltd.
The engine “technology enables us to open huge markets that were once totally oﬀ-limits,”
said Stuart Hendry, vice president of Nokia Enterprise, Asia Paciﬁc. “We will have the ability
to supply power to those residing in extremely isolated areas such as remote islands, high inthe mountains or deep in the jungle.
Aquarius, headquartered in Rosh Ha’ayin in central Israel, uses what it calls a free piston
linear engine, in which a single piston rod moves back and forth between two engine heads.
It still uses fossil fuels such as gasoline, diesel or LPG, but it’s a fraction of the size ofcompeting models and doesn’t need lube oil, reducing the need for maintenance.
That last part is important, because traditional generators can require maintenance and oilchanges every 200-400 hours, which becomes expensive when technicians need to takelong truck, boat or helicopter rides to reach them. Aquarius engines need maintenanceonce every 1,000 hours or so, according to the company’s website.

“There’s no oil and just one moving part,” Fridman said. It’s much more “eﬃcient than any
conventional engine today.”
The company didn’t disclose where in the Philippines the generators would be tested, onlythat it’s a two-hour boat ride from the nearest grid connection.
Oﬀ-Grid Energy
Investment in bringing power to isolated customers is growing
Corporate-level investment into oﬀ-grid energy access companies$ 600 million
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Source: Wood Mackenzie Ltd.

The partnership deal will see Nokia oﬀer cloud computing support to the generators toenable real-time monitoring, while also potentially distributing the equipment to its
enterprise clients in Asia. Telecommunications companies could be a key user as they rollout high-powered towers and equipment to upgrade networks to 5G standards, Fridman
said.
Fridman sees generators as just the ﬁrst step so the company can begin generating cash.
Eventually he sees applications in other industries, such as acting as range extenders forelectric vehicles.
“We’re intending to to change the whole system of engines,” he said.

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NOKIA

NOKIA OYJ3.95 EUR+0.14 +3.58%

8292Z

MACKENZIE LTD

Private Company
CL1WTI Crude

39.55 USD/bbl.

+2.14 +5.72%

7533148Z

WOOD MACKENZIEPrivate Company
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121.36 USd/gal.
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