Infusion Group - Bringing energy to the masses

Waseem Ashraf Qureshi, a born innovator, has been leading ?innovations in the field of power electronics and is known as UAE pioneer innovator in energy solutions

Entrepreneur, inventor, strategist and visionary, Waseem Ashraf Qureshi has spent the past 31 years, successfully developing and launching initiatives that have changed the business landscape in which they operated.

He is the youngest ever recipient of the National Science Award in Pakistan, awarded at the age of 15. He subsequently received several other such national accolades. His brilliance lies in using existing parts and materials (usually 'off-the-shelf') and bringing efficiencies through innovative and creative software/hardware design. Operating in a resource-constrained environment in his early years, he has always believed that there is a better and affordable way of doing things.

Today, Waseem Ashraf Qureshi, Director and Founder of WRL Technologies, CEO and Partner of Infusion Group, has developed something unparalleled in the world of energy storage management. The world is about to feel a seismic change in energy storage. Waseem's device works across the board and, in electric vehicles. With the ever-evolving needs of consumers and industries, Waseem now believes the time is right for Sirius, his supercapacitor module, and Centauri energy server to have a big impact on the market. Waseem's device works across the board and in electric vehicles. Imagine a battery that can charge in seconds, lasts 40 years and can be used between -30 and +80 degrees Celsius with no impact on performance. Sirius can be adapted for a myriad of use cases.

"We can adapt very quickly, creating form factors in any shape or size," explains Waseem. "We're not bound to anything." Streetlights are an example. While they can be a huge collective burden on the power grid, many recently developed residential communities around Dubai have installed solar-equipped lights. The issue comes into play when you look at the chemical lead acid batteries they're connected to.

"The battery starts working at near 100 per cent at the beginning. It works in a curve. Towards the end of the night cycle, say 3am, it begins dimming but you need the light at that time. "Supercaps don't work like that. They work consistently until the end of the power cycle."

Meanwhile, degradation over time is an issue with both lead acid and lithium-ion batteries. In many of these UAE communities, the batteries stopped working about six months after they were installed. "Our supercap can last 20 years. The main difference is there is no chemical electrolyte in the supercap that degrades. We pay for electricity monthly - either to our electricity provider or to our diesel or gas supplier (if we are using diesel or gas generators). While electricity generated from renewable generation is being sold to utilities on the same monthly payment models, this is only available when the sun is shining. Electricity from renewable plus storage systems is not available to consumers on a monthly payment basis. The main reason is that chemical batteries degrade every time they are used, and have a short and unpredictable performance life cycle, so it is not possible to have a predictable business model."

The Sirius supercap storage, however, does not use chemical electrolyte for storage, therefore, it does not degrade over its life cycle and delivers predictable performance over a defined period. This allows it to be combined with renewable generation to deliver electricity that can be sold to consumers on a monthly basis. In the tradition of innovation in the UAE, for the first time, storage based power solutions will be offered to consumers on rental basis, enabling them to deploy storage based systems on monthly payment programmes. Solutions will be launched to replace diesel applications such as outdoor signage lighting, power for outdoor events, power for construction and remote sites. Another innovative solution that will be introduced is storage based 'common area lighting', where Sirius supercap storage combined with PV solar and LED lighting solution will be offered on monthly rental basis. Sirius supercap based rental solutions will deliver cost savings for customers, reduce or completely eliminate diesel usage thereby saving GHG emissions and last, but not least, reduce the lighting load from the grid.

• UAE