The UK Startup Developing the ‘Jerry Cans of Electricity’ - Solus Power CEO, Stas Leonidou

Kratos is the name of a portable, modular power unit that's been developed by the UK startup Solus Energy. It can be deployed wherever it is needed, eliminating the reliance on the electrical grid and fixed infrastructure.

"I established Solus Power in 2020 having just bought my pregnant wife an EV and we were living in a mews in London. There were no charging points on the street to be found. Even the few I could find in the city were either occupied, broken or would only offer a 7kW charge, so it would take all day to charge the car," Stas Leonidou, CEO, Solus Power, tells Auto Futures.

"It became clear that charging infrastructure, and the nature of how vehicles are charged was too fixed and static and had huge limitations. Charging needed to be more flexible, it needed to be mobilized so we’re not tethered to the grid. Electricity is easy to mobilise – we’ve been carrying around power banks to charge our mobile phones for years, it’s the same principal," he adds.

The power units have been described as ‘jerry cans of electricity’. The packs are the size of an attaché case. At under 25kg, they can be carried by individuals to be slid under vehicles or stacked.

The units have also been engineered to withstand the load of a Land Rover thanks to a reinforced structure. 

"We use a Lithium-ion cylindrical cell technology up to a capacity, that at this moment is classified due to the nature of our potential military application. However, we can reveal, they feature modular technology whereby we can connect in series multiple packs using a flying lead to scale in energy as required. With a DC connection they can deliver an ultrafast charge," he explains.

"As luxury EV models hit the market, such as Rolls Royce, Bentley etc, some discerning owners don’t want to pay hundreds of thousands for a vehicle they have to get their hands dirty plugging in a charging cable. With our technology we can discretely charge their vehicle without them having to do anything."

Another issue the technology can help resolve is car hire.

"Typically, a customer is obligated to return the vehicle with a required amount of fuel. But with EVs, this isn’t as easy as just filling up with petrol. The customer would have to plan ahead of time to charge their car before they arrive at the airport, which isn’t particularly convenient or even possible. So, car hire companies would have to take that car off-site to be recharged for several hours, taking it out of service," says Leonidou.

Battlefield Electrification

Solus Power has been working with the defence technology company QinetiQ to develop, design and engineer its battery technology. The  strategic partnership aims to research and develop advanced EV charging solutions, appropriate to fleet charging and infrastructure, as well as to the specific needs of the UK's Ministry of Defence (MOD).

"Solus Power was initially designed for the automotive market but its innovation has been identified to serve the defence and security sectors. The battlefield is becoming increasingly energy hungry as both the UK and US Army have announced strategies to move to more sustainable, electrified vehicle fleets," says Leonidou.

"Battlefield electrification will reduce the need for fossil fuel. And, if you can harvest energy where this is no grid wherever you go and deploy it on the battlefield it gives defence a massive advantage," he adds.

The company has received financial backing from the US investment firm Marbanc International.

"This latest funding is not only testament to the belief in the impact of our revolutionary technology but it will enable us to expedite its commercialisation. Prior to roll out, Kratos units will need to meet specific regulatory standards in order to comply with legislation... Investment will assist in this quite costly process."

The aim is to have Kratos on the market by 2024 in the UK with further territories to follow.

"We are continuing to develop the technology alongside QinetiQ with the aim to bring it to market as soon as possible. Recent investment has meant we are able to expedite our development process. We will look to conduct, evaluate and conclude testing at QinetiQ’s Vehicle Systems Facility in Farnborough. Following that, a fully functioning demonstrator," he says.

Overcoming The Pain Points of EV Ownership

According to some reports, the adoption of EVs in Europe has slowed this year. Leonidou is calling for the roll-out of more chargepoints in the UK.

"Chargepoint anxiety still remains a massive issue. In January in the UK, we saw the 1 millionth EV registered but public EV chargepoints are at just over 50,000. This is increasing year-on-year, but is it enough to make owners want to make the move away from the convenience of fossil fuel? We need greater investment to double down on this effort to ensure chargepoints are far and wide. Our mobile charging solution is designed to smooth out these pain points of EV ownership," he says.

Finally we asked him what EV charging in the UK will look like by the end of the decade.

"Ideally, a seamless, affordable and CO2 neutral network where there is never a wait for a charger and they all work. But this is a dream. The UK has set itself the target of 300,000 public EV chargepoints by 2030, which is still unlikely to be sufficient. To even achieve this, they need to more than double their current rollout efforts," he says.

"Our vision is a far more flexible charging network that is not static or rigid. It needs to be mobilised, to not tether EV owners to chargepoints for hours on end. It also needs to be able to put energy back into the grid. Bi-directional V2G charging will be a big breakthough to even the load demands."

"A renewable grid is all very well, but you can never tell when the sun will shine or wind will blow. As such energy storage is crucial to capturing energy when supply is abundant and deploying it at peak times. Our power packs have the potential to do just this," concludes Leonidou.