Dec 24 2013
Flux Power® Holdings, Inc., an innovator in advanced lithium energy storage systems, announced an agreement with Penguin Automated Systems Inc. to deliver a lithium motive power solution for a large unmanned robot that Penguin is developing for underground mining and civil construction activities.
Flux will design and produce a 46-kilowatt, 48-volt lithium iron phosphate battery pack to power Penguin’s three-ton robot that will be deployed for subterranean uses including mining and inspecting sewer systems. Development of the robot is scheduled for completion by the mid-2014, to be followed by initial testing with mining and civil construction customers based in South America.
Greg Baiden, Chairman and Chief Technology Officer of Penguin, stated, “We chose Flux for their technical expertise and responsiveness to our unique design needs for run time, charge time and hazardous environment requirements. Innovations in energy storage are allowing Penguin to bring to market new advanced telerobotics solutions for more demanding applications across multiple industries.”
Chile's largest mining company, Codelco, is collaborating with Penguin in the development of robotics technologies for underground mining. Hector Cerda, Project Manager of Emerging Technologies and Codelco’s leader in the joint project, commented, “the benefits of the Flux battery technology, in terms of size, capacity and safety, should enable better operating performance and acceptance by mine operations and unions."
Acting CEO, Ron Dutt, commented, “We are pleased that Penguin selected Flux to collaborate on such a groundbreaking project that demonstrates the scalability of our LiFT Pack storage solutions. Supporting advances in robotic technology is an exciting new avenue of opportunity for Flux and consistent with our core strengths in developing safe, reliable storage solutions across a range of performance characteristics and form factors.”