PBES to begin Norwegian production early 2016 – Maritime Reporter, March Edition.
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Plan B Energy Storage (PBES) will begin manufac- turing batteries in Trondheim, Norway early in 2016 to better meet demand from Northern European markets. PBES, known for its team of highly qualified and experienced engineers, has developed what they call Safe Energy Storage: the ability to fully contain thermal events in a battery that would simply destroy other systems. This patent pending system has been vetted and validated by leaders in commercial marine propulsion systems and be- gins production in Trondheim early in 2016.
“PBES is well poised for manufacturing and deploy- ment in Europe,” commented PBES chief executive of- ficer Brent Perry.“We’ve learned that doing things right from the beginning will save a lot of money and head- aches later on as our company scales up production with the right infrastructure in place.”
“Engineering our battery’s unique thermal stability and safety was very challenging for our team. Laying down the manufacturing with the right people is also hard. Being able to manufacture and service the product efficiently is the next challenge, and we’ve executed on all three in a short period of time.”
PBES nabbed industry veteran Erik Ianssen, former CEO of Selfa Arctic AS, to spearhead the company’s in- dustrial marine markets in Norway. A boat builder known for his innovations, such as the fully electric fishing ves- sel Elmax 1099, Ianssen has a reputation for best-in-class quality products and has extensive knowledge of the local marine business.
“The opening of the Norwegian office of PBES could not have come at a better time,” said Ianssen. “As the mar- ket for energy storage in Europe rapidly grows, it makes sense to have local production, distribution and service. The proximity to the market will enhance the level and speed of service we are able to provide. With the PBES energy storage system, we will continue to help players in the marine industry become sustainable, both environ- mentally and economically.”
In addition to Ianssen, the rest of the business develop- ment staff at PBES is also world class. Internally referred to as the solutions team, they consist of other industry ex- perts from a variety of backgrounds, all focussed on find- ing the right energy storage solution for their customer’s specific application. The mantra of providing solutions for their customers extends to all areas of the company. Everything from engineering a best in class product, to providing best in class supportis looked at from the per- spective of service to the customer. PBES is poised to
“We’ve learned that doing things right from the beginning will save a lot of money and headaches later on as our company scales up production with the right infrastructure in place.”
– Brent Perry, CEO, PBES
dominate the Northern European energy storage indus- try. “We’ve done it before,” said Perry, “we are doing it again, only this time we are even more focussed on the needs of our partners and customers.”
Perry, who recently spoke at the COP21 United Nations Climate Change Conference, is a lithium battery safety and
technology expert. His efforts in bringing battery technol- ogy to the commercial marine sector have lead to the cre- ation of the electric marine industry. He has been directly involved in virtually all of the most significant hybrid and electric marine systems on the water today and has been called the Elon Musk of the marine industry.