• Bladon Micro Turbine and Ryse Energy announce strategic partnership at TowerXChange in Dubai
• Sustainable energy: The Ryse-Bladon Partnership will transform the off-grid telecoms power sector, providing clean, affordable, and reliable power, with up to 90% renewable energy. 
• Clean energy: Ryse Energy’s wind, solar, battery storage systems, coupled with Bladon’s innovative flexible fuel microturbine is the industry’s first ultra-low maintenance solution to power remote and rural towers.
• Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) reduction: The Ryse-Bladon Partnership will reduce GHG emissions, through cleaner fuels, more efficient turbines and renewable energy systems.
• Fuelling change: The partnership will contribute to a diesel consumption reduction on-site of up to 90%.

TowerXchange, Dubai, October 12th 2021: Ryse Energy, the global leader in distributed renewable energy systems with over 4,000 installations across all seven continents and Bladon Micro Turbine, the only manufacturer of micro turbine-based power generators (MTG) for the telecoms market, have formed a strategic partnership to decarbonize and transform the telecoms power sector. The partnership will use clean, reliable power, with up to 90% renewable energy, in the most challenging off-grid and bad-grid locations. 

The partnership will contribute to immediate reductions in operating costs for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Tower Companies (TowerCos), and Energy Service Companies (ESCOs), reducing fuel consumption by up to 90% using Ryse Energy’s renewable energy systems and Bladon’s efficient micro turbine generators. The partnership will deliver significant service cost reductions, with maintenance only required once per year. The micro turbine can operate on a wide range of fuels including low/no carbon fuels, to suit the territory and balance operating costs with sustainability goals. 

Commenting on the agreement, Yvette Henshall-Bell, Chief Commercial Officer for Bladon said:

“Combining Bladon’s micro turbine and Ryse Energy’s renewable energy solutions, solves the challenge of balancing costs and carbon footprint. Bladon and Ryse Energy’s clean power technology provide maximum reliability in delivering primary power for remote, rural off-grid sites, or to sites that are noise and air quality sensitive. With only one site visit required per year for maintenance, this solution delivers maximum autonomy, reducing operating costs, increasing equipment operating life and virtually eliminating carbon emissions for almost nine months of the year. With Bladon’s fuel flexible architecture, emissions can be further reduced using low carbon fuels, such as HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) which has 90% less CO2 than diesel. 

Iain Munro, Strategy Director, Ryse Energy commented:

“The strategic partnership between Bladon and Ryse Energy is a game-changer for the off-grid telecoms sector. The partnership will increase renewable energy consumption on-site, whilst reducing operating costs, service costs, fuel theft and environmental pollution.

Bringing two innovative UK manufacturers together to offer a best-in-class solution will help the industry achieve its ambitious climate targets.”

Speaking on the sidelines of TowerXchange Meetup Africa, held in Dubai – Matthew Edwards, Product Director, TowerXchange commented

“The drive to deploy more renewable sources of energy on telecom tower sites is increasing at a pace never seen before due to regulatory and shareholders pressures to satisfy increased demand for broadband services, and in parallel reduce greenhouse gas emissions while considering the space constraints of many sites. 

Over the next five years towercos and MNOs intend to spend over US$4bn on renewable and sustainable energy solution to tackle this challenge and this partnership between Ryse Energy and Bladon is a major step in the right direction towards greening the network and providing a more sustainable future for the telecoms sector.”

Nearly half of all towers in Sub-Saharan Africa, and 16 per cent of towers in South and Southeast Asia, are still categorized as either off-grid or bad-grid, and over 80 per cent of these continue to run on diesel power. Furthermore, the 7 million tonnes of CO₂e that will be emitted from mobile tower diesel generators will account for approximately three per cent of the industry’s total emissions in 2020. The Ryse-Bladon partnership will provide cleaner, more efficient, sustainable, lower cost energy options to these towers, enabling access to mobile services for millions of people across the globe. 

Last month the UAE committed to invest £10 billion ($13.8 billion) into the UK over the next five years, and Ryse Energy and Bladon both have strong links to the UK and the UAE. 

Both Bladon Micro Turbine and Ryse Energy manufacture their innovative technologies in the UK, and in addition, Bladon has strong ties to Dubai, and Ryse Energy’s global headquarters is in Abu Dhabi’s sustainable city, Masdar.