Power HF, a leading power system innovator from China, has exported their innovative diesel gensets, hybrid power units, and energy storage solutions all over Asia and Africa. Their equipment has proved efficient and reliable on tens of thousands of cell sites in India, Myanmar, North and Sub-Saharan Africa. More than just a power system manufacturer, Power HF also offers end-to-end services, from civil works, installation and construction, to maintenance. Power HF has also successfully entered the fuel cell market in China. TowerXchange met with Chairman David Xu to learn more about the company.
TowerXchange: Please introduce Power HF.
David Xu, Chairman, Power HF:
Founded in 1920, Power HF is a world class manufacturer of engines and diesel gensets, with a particular focus in telecom on innovations in hybrid generation, energy storage and fuel cells. Power HF has produced over two million engines, has annual production capacity for 150,000 engines and 15,000 gensets, and we are one of the largest exporters of gensets in China.
We have been serving the telecom industry since 2006, supplying gensets in the range of 10-2000 kVA. We produce variable speed gensets and the Eazy Hybrid power system with embedded fuel and remote management system designed to meet telecom standards, which can reduce DG runtime by over 70% for off grid or bad grid scenarios.
Apart from being a product supplier, Power HF also provides services on an end-to-end, turnkey solution basis. For example we provide installation, construction and maintenance services to telcos and towercos in India and Myanmar for RF and infrastructure equipment.
Power HF provides services to MNOs like Reliance Jio, Vodafone, Safaricom, Telenor, Ooredoo, MPT, Airtel and also to leading tower companies like edotco, IGT, OCK and Eaton Towers to name a few.
Power HF is also undertaking it’s first foray into the IDC market, which is booming in China.
TowerXchange: What has been the nature of your work with China Tower Corporation (CTC), and what can you tell us about their power strategy for their cell sites?
David Xu, Chairman, Power HF:
CTC produces their own standardised site designs from steel structures to cabinets. They are generally compact, integrated designs to save land and power.
CTC prefers to use commercial grid power during off peak periods when the rates are half price or less, cycling the battery banks during peak daytime hours. CTC also uses renewable energy sources like solar, fuel cells and is increasingly replacing lead acid with lithium-ion batteries. Power HF along with CTC are piloting recycled EV batteries for their usage at cell sites. Given the high availability of grid power in China, backup gensets are typically only deployed on critical sites.
It is expected that CTC will invest in modernisation and up gradation of cell sites after the successful IPO.
TowerXchange: What are Power HF’s priority export markets?
David Xu, Chairman, Power HF:
Our primary focus is on developing countries with large populations in Asia such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Philippines and Indonesia.
We started exporting our power systems to India 12 years ago, and have shipped 38,500 units to the country, the majority of which are still operating, which is testament to our quality and service.
We started exporting our power systems to India 12 years ago, and have shipped 38,500 units to the country, the majority of which are still operating, which is testament to our quality and service… In Myanmar, we can proudly say that more than 20% of the towers have Power HF equipment
We have supplied more than 600 units of our Eazy Hybrid power system with remote management to Eco Friendly Towers in Myanmar, and more than 2,000 gensets to OCK, IGT and edotco. We recently won best supplier award from edotco. In Myanmar, we can proudly say that more than 20% of the towers have Power HF equipment.
In Africa, we have supplied to Eaton Towers, Safaricom and Vodafone Egypt.
TowerXchange: Does Power HF have an appetite to provide your end-to end turkey services under an Energy Services Company (ESCO) contract?
David Xu, Chairman, Power HF:
We are discussing ESCO models with some towercos interested in becoming powercos. Since this is at a very nascent stage of discussion and also involving some uncertainties, we are still exploring the nuances of the business.
TowerXchange: Please summarise Power HF’s value proposition for towercos and MNOs.
David Xu, Chairman, Power HF:
Power HF is a well-established, internationally proven partner to the telecom industry. We manufacture a range of world-class power systems to meet any telecom requirement, from 10-2000 kVA diesel gensets to advanced hybrid power units, energy storage solutions and fuel cells . We also provide turnkey solutions to the telecom industry for network deployment.
Sustainable quality and commitment to delivering on time are two pillars of the success story of Power HF.
