Battery Revolution Prepares to Take on Noisy Construction Sites

(Bloomberg) — The battery revolution is moving from the highway to the construction site.

At a project in northern Hong Kong, Gammon Construction Ltd. has swapped out diesel generators with massive lithium-ion batteries called Enertainers to power the giant cranes that erect high-rises. It’s yet another indication of how reduced cost and improved efficiency have opened the door for the technology to move into fields once thought impossible to electrify.

While construction cranes have always run on electricity, they have tended to use diesel generators because the massive bursts of power needed would drain local grids and risk blackouts. Batteries can take barely noticeable sips from the network all day and night in order to provide the giant discharges needed by the builders, with benefits that go beyond helping to limit pollution.

“We can work longer hours as it produces much less noise, it’s significantly more economical from a fuel and maintenance point of view, and our company is able to reduce our carbon and air quality emissions,” said Sammy Lai, a director at Gammon Construction, which is using the batteries for a development at Hong Kong Science Park in the New Territories.