A Glasgow based renewable firm is set to advance into the energy markets of Africa and the US with a newly developed renewable energy generator.
CCL Components builds hybrid power battery systems which can store and give power to areas that are far off the grid and therefore ideal for parts of the global south lacking direct energy infrastructure.
The company, initially small in size, has seen its revenues grow to £17.3m with trade to states in America such as Texas and Arizona. It is now ready to expand to Africa and regions outside the UK.
Speaking on the prospects for Scottish energy technology and industry to expand into new international markets Paul Brooks, director of operations at CCL, said: “Many countries are increasing their focus on reducing carbon emissions and using renewable energy sources – this creates an enormous opportunity particularly in sparsely-populated areas with limited access to energy grids.
“Although there are a lot of countries that fit this profile, we’ve identified the US and a number of countries within the African Continent as being among our next markets. We already trade via our sister company The Powerstore Inc. in Dallas, Texas, which gives us a great platform from which to grow in both North and South America.”
Their recent hybrid battery was first conceived as from a military research for use in war zones but the company itself sees the potential for civilian use in countries low in carbon for heating and electricity for rural areas. It can be used as a standalone solar generator when in remote areas.
Called Powerplus, the new battery generator can be powered by solar energy resulting in average fuel savings of up to 50 per cent compared with conventional power-generation batteries.
Since 2008 the South African economy has opened up its markets to renewable investment and sales. Presently it has as much electrical capacity as half of the rest of sub-Saharan Africa combined but there are still difficulties reaching and powering remote places.
Scottish Enterprise (SE), the agency set up by the Scottish Government to encourage small companies to grow and trade, has responded positively to the invention and expansion of Scottish eco-technology.
A spokesperson for the operations wing of the public body told CommonSpace: “SE has set an ambitious agenda to encourage the development of small and midsized enterprises out of Scotland to not only grow in domestic markets but invest abroad.
“Making partnerships is more important now than ever for the future Scottish industry.”
The organisation recently set up connections between Scottish oil and solar companies with counterparts in Iran at an energy pavilion last year.
