Vertiv Launches First Single-Vendor Solution to Enable Grid Flexibility, Power Stability and Demand Management

New Dynamic Grid Support feature combined with Vertiv™ UPS and lithium-ion battery technologies can unlock revenues approaching 1 million Euro per year for 10 MW of flexible load for customers in Ireland today, according to demand response leader Enel X

London, UK [April 27, 2021] – Vertiv, (NYSE: VRT), a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, today introduced an innovative Dynamic Grid Support feature for Vertiv™ Liebert^® EXL S1 uninterruptible power supply (UPS). When coupled with the Vertiv^™ HPL lithium-ion battery cabinet, the complete system represents the first single-vendor integrated solution on the market combining grid support features, UPS and lithium-ion batteries.

Available now across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Vertiv^™ Liebert^® EXL S1 with Dynamic Grid Support feature allows energy-intensive industries to utilise UPS systems in a proactive way. As intermittent renewables continue to challenge conventional electric power generation, new energy storage services are required to help meet sustainability goals, generate revenues and reduce energy bills. Using the UPS with Dynamic Grid Support and lithium-ion batteries during times of grid instability can ultimately contribute to decarbonization and transition to green energy, securing the supply of electricity by addressing the imbalance related to renewable power generation, in turn supporting global sustainability.

The Vertiv^™ HPL lithium-ion battery cabinet, which is already in use in North America and will soon be available in EMEA, is compatible with most current and legacy Vertiv three-phase UPS systems. While Vertiv was an early adopter of lithium-ion batteries for the data centre, the Vertiv HPL marks the first offering with Vertiv’s own battery management system with key features specifically designed for modern data centres, such as improved user interfaces, integrated controls and enhanced serviceability.

Giovanni Zanei, global offering management director for the AC Power line of business at Vertiv said: “As digitalisation continues to grow across the world, we need to support our customers with solutions that not only help with adoption of alternative grid technologies, but also allow customers the option of monetising their existing assets. This isn’t just business critical, but critical for our planet as sustainable solutions for digital consumption will be a big part of global efforts to combat climate change and build a sustainable infrastructure fit for the future. We want to be part of the solution.”

“Today, deploying Liebert^® EXL S1 with Dynamic Grid Support and lithium-ion battery technologies would enable participation in Ireland’s DS3 Programme – Delivering a Secure, Sustainable Electricity System – and the opportunity to earn revenues approaching 1 million Euro per year for 10 MW of flexible load,” said John Byrne, head of UK & Ireland operations at Enel X, leading provider of demand response. “The need for such grid services is strong and growing as both the country and Irish businesses look to decarbonise.”

Data centres and other critical infrastructures such as telco networks, Industry 4.0 factories and airports, have a key role to play in todays’ shifting energy landscape which presents new ways to be sustainable, generate revenues and lower energy costs. As a recent IEA report points out, tech companies could play a major role in helping to smooth out electricity use. Big tech companies could play an even bigger role in decarbonising the grid by adopting more flexible operations such as shifting workloads to battery storage or other energy reserves to match renewable generation or acting as a demand response resource.

Liebert EXL S1 with Dynamic Grid Support provides static and dynamic frequency regulation by controlling the input power and the batteries charge/discharge based on frequency activation thresholds. It also supports demand management services when the commands to modulate the UPS response are related to demand control flexibility.

Dedicated controls maintain the necessary battery energy to support the critical load in the event of an outage. When operating in Dynamic Grid Support mode, the UPS provides a fast response to react to the grid controller commands. The total response time between the frequency variation detection, required for the external controller to generate the command, and the moment the UPS reaches the specified power set point is within approximately 500 milliseconds. This enables organisations to protect their critical applications with stable power, and also helps grid operators stabilise variations in system frequency which occur as a result of the increased use of renewable energy sources.

For more details on Vertiv critical energy capabilities, go to Vertiv.com/Grid-Support and download the latest white paper How to Maximize Revenues from Your Data Centre Energy Storage System with Grid Interactive UPS.

About Liebert^® EXL S1

Vertiv Liebert^® EXL S1’s new generation architecture has been designed to reduce energy and heat dissipation, consequently minimising the demand and consumption of air conditioning systems. The combination of these factors, coupled with a double conversion efficiency of up to 97%, further improved up to 99% when operating in the dynamic online mode, reduces CO₂ emissions significantly. The technology provides system capacity from 100 kW up to 9.6 MW and its high-power density allows customers to maximise the number of racks and servers housed in their data centre. The solution also contributes to ensuring data centres are a step closer to meeting the industry’s environmental and efficiency compliance standards by ensuring a zero impact on upstream infrastructure; perfect compatibility with modern mission critical loads; enhanced performances for maximum energy saving and CO₂ emission reduction; maximum system flexibility for all installations; and reduced Total Cost of Ownership.

About Vertiv™ HPL

The Vertiv™ HPL cabinet is the first lithium-ion battery cabinet designed by data centre experts for data centre users, which has successfully completed the UL 9540A fire test and is currently undergoing CE certification. The unit is sized like a standard data centre rack and ships preassembled with four to seven lithium-ion batteries. The modular configuration allows for connection of up to 12 cabinets to a single UPS, in order to customize runtime capacity and redundancy to the application. Seamless integration with the Vertiv™ Alber™ Battery Xplorer Enterprise battery monitoring system allows for real-time data at the cell, module, system and facility level, ensuring early notification of potential issues and maximising battery life. Vertiv batteries are nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC), a proven chemistry commonly used for the rigorous safety standards required for the automobile industry and have a 10-year battery life guarantee under normal operating conditions. The Vertiv HPL is warranted to operate up to 30° C (86 degrees Fahrenheit), allowing operators to reduce cooling costs compared to most alternative solutions.

About Vertiv

Vertiv (NYSE: VRT) brings together hardware, software, analytics and ongoing services to ensure its customers’ vital applications run continuously, perform optimally and grow with their business needs. Vertiv solves the most important challenges facing today’s data centres, communication networks and commercial and industrial facilities with a portfolio of power, cooling and IT infrastructure solutions and services that extends from the cloud to the edge of the network. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, USA, Vertiv employs approximately 20,000 people and does business in more than 130 countries. For more information, and for the latest news and content from Vertiv, visit Vertiv.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27 of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act. These statements are only a prediction. Actual events or results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statement set forth herein. Readers are referred to Vertiv’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for a discussion of these and other important risk factors concerning Vertiv and its operations. Vertiv is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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