Stand Alone Power, recycled lithium batteries

During my time spent as a volunteer at Substation 33, which is an electronic waste recycle depot, established in Logan, SE Queensland in Australia, several exciting projects and spin-offs have been created.



The most recent and exciting development is a device which is called a 'Power Well'. It will combine recycled lithium batteries with a recycled solar panel to provide stand alone electricity to remote locations that have no other access to a power supply. This device will provide LED lighting and a power supply for phones and small electronic devices that will enable education and quality of life improvements for otherwise disadvantaged people in remote communities.



While the initial offering of this device has been centred around Indonesia, PNG, and the Pacific Islands, expressions of interest are also invited from mainland SE Asian countries such as Viet Nam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand.



Several years ago, Substation 33 began building 3D printers from recycled office equipment offering both training and printers to schools and individuals at a very small cost while finding a use for what would have otherwise become scrap metal and plastic.



Lithium batteries are a major resource derived from recycled devices such as laptop computers, drills and the ever increasing battery-pack power tools market. When this equipment is broken down for recycling, these batteries are often found to be in good condition. Other elements of the device such as the motherboard or cooling fans are often the reason why the device had failed, or when just one of the batteries in a power pack failed the item becomes e-waste, and this is where a vast array of opportunities are created.



Substation 33 has developed strategies to extract, test, recharge and recycle these batteries for a broad range of uses. For example, they can build power packs for electric bikes, giving the capacity to travel up to 100 km between recharges.



These recycled lithium batteries are now being used to power electronic flood monitoring warning devices located on flood prone roads and bridges throughout Australia.



The batteries are also being used to power a water pollution monitoring device that is currently under development. It will monitor several components of water quality remotely and deliver the results electronically to a central point for analysis.



If you are involved in community development projects that are without a power supply, or if you are interested in creating an electronic waste recycling community project, please take the time to view the links below and feel free to contact the developers for the possibility of becoming involved in the project for your community or individual situation.



https://substation33.com.au/



Here is the link to our crowd funding campaign, https://www.startsomegood.com/powerwells



and a link to our Brisbane times https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/na...to-power-remote-villages-20171210-p4yxkn.html