When it comes to manufacturing pharmaceuticals, stringent adherence to quality 
assurance is of paramount concern. Precise quality control processes ensure that products are manufactured to the most stringent specifications and dosage. This critical requirement demands that reliable power is maintained throughout the production process and that all production parameters are monitored and recorded to assure that the product is manufactured correctly. For one multinational, multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical company, the importance of its corporate data centers processing production and inventory data across its worldwide operations is so critical that any loss of power – even for a moment – is simply unacceptable.
A Better Solution
With traditional battery-based Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems and diesel generators, users must constantly verify that the systems are in top working condition. Over time, the pharmaceutical company’s UPS systems were aging and the need for a better solution was clear to the facility management staff. Space for the power equipment on the plant floor was very limited with no room for cooling equipment.
Over time, the customer had experience with both wet cells and valve regulated lead-acid (VRLA) batteries. VRLA batteries were no longer acceptable as they demonstrated low reliability, and wet cells required valuable floor-space, as well as ongoing maintenance and cooling – all of which was not acceptable for the customer’s application. Looking for a reliable solution that A: did not rely on maintenance-laden batteries and B: could operate in the plant room without the need for air conditioning or extensive maintenance became critical. Facing these needs, the company turned to Liebert for a better solution. The total load of the protected equipment was estimated at 375 kVA or 300 kilowatts. Based on the customer’s requirements, Liebert recommended a 400kVA UPS utilizing three paralleled Pentadyne VSS DC flywheel systems (distributed by Liebert as the “Liebert FS”) as an energy storage system in lieu of a battery bank. The VSS DC is an advanced DC flywheel power system that is fully compatible with UPS systems from leading manufacturers. Acting as a mechanical battery, the flywheel power system stores kinetic energy in a high-speed rotating group and converts it back into electrical energy when backup power is needed to support critical loads. Providing ride-through time to bridge power to the backup generators, the flywheel system is a very low maintenance, space saving and high reliability alternative to UPS battery banks while improving overall UPS system lifecycle cost. Since the pharmaceutical company required high power, but for only a short duration to assure transfer to a backup generator, the flywheel systems were an ideal solution for their particular application. A single VSS DC flywheel system can provide 160 kWb for 12.5 seconds – more than ample time to ride through 98 percent of voltage sags and outages (which are typically 10 seconds or less) and then seamlessly transfer to the generator in the event of a prolonged power outage. The unique design of the VSS DC allows the units to be easily paralleled when higher power, longer runtime or redundancy are needed without troublesome communication links. This clearly provides quick and easy expansion capabilities. In this case, three paralleled systems easily accommodated the nearly 340kWb required to support the customer’s load and provided over 20 seconds of ride-through before transferring to the diesel generator.
Real-World Verification
The customer expressed a solid interest for the flywheel-based solution but indicated that he would welcome a witness test to build up his level of confidence into this really innovative approach. Liebert and Pentadyne performed a real-world test for the customer demonstrating the combined UPS and Flywheel system in action. The conclusive test convinced the customer that this actually was the ideal solution to protect their data center. Upon installation of the new system, the customer requested to perform a one-time test after the start-up service was performed. Once the flywheel-based UPS was online, the UPS rectifier was disabled briefly through software controls in order to confirm that each flywheel unit would transition to discharge mode and support the load. With this confirmed, the full load was then applied and the main grid supply circuit-breaker was opened to disconnect the power. The flywheel-based UPS supported the load right away. Within the first three seconds the automatic transfer switch detected a prolonged power outage and triggered the back-up generator’s ignition sequence. This sequence enabled a seamless transfer to the generator just a few seconds later. The added benefit of having flywheels in lieu of batteries is that the flywheels recharged to full state of charge in just a few seconds after the load was fully supported by the generator. That means that the flywheels were back into condition quickly, up and ready to support the load through the UPS. The test was completed successfully and the Liebert flywheel-based UPS was declared ready to protect the data center.
Mission Accomplished
With the new power protection system in place, the pharmaceutical company has peace of mind knowing that their critical data center is fully protected no matter the state of the power from the electrical grid. And due to the unique nature of their plant, the flywheel systems combined with the UPS give the plant 24/7 protection in a compact and low maintenance package. In the future, the customer will most likely eliminate batteries entirely as the flywheel technology provides superior performance without incurring the on-going maintenance and hidden costs of ownership that batteries present. Further, due to the unique operating features such as rapid recharging and broad operating temperature range, the Pentadyne VSS DC can be used where batteries have been ruled out.
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Jean-Philippe Poirrier is director of marketing for Pentadyne Power Corporation. Visit www.pentadye.com.
