Base stations

03/08/2007 -- TeliaSonera of Sweden has been running tests for more than a year with the aim of evaluating the possibility of using fuel cells as backup power for telecom exchanges. The trials produced very favourable results and the system is the first of its kind in actual service in Europe. TeliaSonera is now also beginning an equivalent test on fuel cells for mobile phone base stations.

TeliaSonera telecom exchanges are normally powered from the ordinary mains power network. In the event of a power cut, a backup system now consisting of batteries and a diesel generator will cut in. In the north of the Småland region, three telecom exchanges have instead been equipped with fuel cells that can serve as backup for up to two weeks, which is much longer than today’s system can manage. Moreover, the environmental impact of fuel cells is minimal, with only clean water as the residual product.