Skeleton’s ultracapacitors are helping to save energy across the world and in a diverse range of industries. An interesting example is the intralogistics sector which is being automated at an increasing speed.
Skeleton Technologies' ultracapacitors allow nearly instant charging of Automated Guided Vehicles and shuttles in automated warehousing. When mobile power is required, batteries can cause long downtimes due to recharge, or high initial investment due to extra battery packs intended for swapping. High cycle rate of operation will also wear out batteries faster, requiring frequent maintenance. Skeleton’s ultracapacitors solve these issues and are already used by intralogistics companies.
One of them is Craftsman Automation, an Indian company based in Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu). Founded in 1986 by Ravi Srinivasan, it is a premium manufacturer of equipment, high precision powertrain parts for the automotive industry. One of its divisions, Craftsman Storage Solutions, offers a range of Automated Storage & Retrieval Systems (ASRS) including Pallet Stacker Cranes, Vertical Lift Modules and Radio Pallet Shuttle.
Due to the demand for a completely automated solution, Craftsman started to develop a fully automated pallet shuttle based ASRS. However, they realized the Li-ion battery system could not meet their needs for high availability of the shuttle as the charging downtime reduces the availability. Also, the slow degradation of Li-ion by repeated charging posed a challenge in long–term reliability. For every 8 hours of operation, the Li-Ion battery needs 2 hours of charging.
This is what convinced Craftsman to purchase Skeleton’s ultracapacitors. The extremely quick recharging capabilities of the ultracapacitors alongside the fact they do not need maintenance enable operation without downtime compared to Li-ion battery’s 75% availability. They work for 45 seconds and can be charged along the route by the carrier’s on-board charging system. Also, the long lifetime of the ultracapacitors is another major advantage for ensuring the system’s long-term reliability. These Pallet Shuttle systems are now deployed in warehouse logistics for Pallet storage and cold storage warehouses.
The durable design, high reliability and efficiency, and small size of Skeleton’s ultracapacitors make them an ideal fit for a variety of applications in intralogistics and warehouse management. SkelMod 51V 177F ultracapacitor module, Custom modules or laser-welded cell packs have proven to be particularly suitable for AGVs, forklifts and shuttles.
