HUBBLE ENERGY: Technology Trailblazers Expanding Globally

Enabling South Africa’s boundless solar energy industry is a challenge that few could embrace head on. While the sun shines for 2500 hours on average each year, the market for taking advantage of this renewable resource is complicated. Installers, wholesalers, importers, equipment companies, connections to the grid – there’s many moving parts and most move in different directions.

Combine this with an unreliable grid that fails businesses regularly, and with no sign of improving anytime soon, and there is a hot topic for those in energy. Keeping the lights on while being sustainable has, seemingly, been unachievable until relatively recently.

In 2020, industry veteran Marius Vincent started a business focused on batteries and associated technology to answer a call from the market for a reliable battery system that can connect seamlessly into solar installations. Hubble Energy was born and set off introducing innovation that was missing.

“I have always been in the power industry,” Vincent tells Enterprise Africa. “I was in uninterrupted power supply (UPS) before solar panels became popular. I saw the opportunity when lithium was in its infancy. Lead-acid doesn’t last with loadshedding. You need three days to charge and float the battery correctly. When lithium was released, it solved a lot of problems for enterprise in South Africa and the batteries are designed to charge in one or two hours without degrading. I left my job and started Hubble and that was just before Covid. I thought if I didn’t take the chance, I would never know. That was very exciting. I was working out of my house and I grew the company from scratch.”

Hubble Energy supplies advanced energy storage solutions capable of powering homes, businesses, or commercial spaces.  What separates the company from the rest is its South African heritage. The company was established in South Africa to solve South African problems, using South African skills. Vincent is clear that local research and development capability, from local engineers, gives Hubble an edge.

“We have done a lot of designs for our own batteries,” he says. “We have a lot of our own IP, and we have created energy management system (EMS) software. We have inhouse coders, software development, marketing, and more. We create a product from the ground up, and we use OEM third parties for manufacturing to our spec.”

This approach has meant quick expansion for Hubble, realising material year-on-year growth in just four years. Product development has been swift and now the company boasts a range across low voltage, high voltage, commercial and industrial, and larger showcase projects.

Currently over 55 staff strategically placed in major metropolitan towns serve the country nationwide. Vincent is busy expanding the team across all disciplines to keep up with demand, but his key focus is to remain at the sharp end of the market, driving innovation and searching for the next pioneering advancement that can bring step-change for clients.

“We are always on the front foot with development and we are always looking to understand what the market wants, or could want,” he says, adding that they are investing in further expansion in Port Elizabeth and Durban.

PROVEN SOLUTIONS

Case studies for the work of Hubble are strong. At Lebone Litho Printers in Johannesburg, loadshedding was interrupting printing schedules causing a headache for the leading specialist printer. The company opted for a solar installation to mitigate, putting approximately 2000 panels on the roof with eight inverters. Hubble was called on to deliver high voltage batteries and support infrastructure to bring the system together. Now, Lebone Litho receives reliable energy, at a good price, in a fully intelligent system.

Similarly, at a luxury game lodge in the Kruger National Park – The Outpost – a solar installation was chosen to fulfil sustainable energy requirements. Hubble’s high voltage battery system again provided the perfect solution, storing large amounts of energy, powering 100% of the lodge’s energy needs after just seven hours charging in the sun of the country’s flagship park.

At the Cerebos salt factory in Port Elizabeth, a solar installation was essential in combating the escalating energy cost and intermittent supply for this nationally relevant manufacturing business. Hubble’s high voltage solutions were deployed across a large system to smooth energy supply in peaks and troughs, especially through the winter periods where typical energy pricing increases. Here, Hubble opted for a new development – a bespoke system with high efficiency, ease of installation, and strong safety and reliability credentials.

For Hubble, researching to find resolutions to unique problems and engineering solutions is second nature. This natural problem-solving ethos has helped the product range to grow and the reputation to cross borders.

“We are expanding into energy storage systems which are large, containerised products for more than 1MW,” reveals Vincent, adding that the internally developed Hubble Cloudlink monitoring software makes remote deployment much easier.

“We work mostly in South Africa, but we do have customers that purchase from us and then export across borders. We have sold into Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and we are looking at Mauritius where we have a great product that we are working on for yachts.

“We are in discussions with distributors in sub-Saharan Africa, and beyond right now, and we are looking at an international footprint. We have an extremely high level of integration with other inverters. We have approvals from most of the big brands and a lot of our competitors don’t have that. That enables us to expand much faster,” Vincent adds.

EXCELLENT GROWTH

With most rivals in SA behind in terms of technology, and lacking technical knowledge, Hubble holds a strong position. A network of support centres, skilled people, and an ongoing care structure gives customers everything required for long-term success.

“We have seen excellent growth since start up,” confirms Vincent. “The market is a little flooded, but we are still doing very well. Hubble is well positioned with resellers, and we have a very strong brand behind us that customers really trust because of our quality.”

This quality is ensured across the supply chain with Vincent and other senior employees vetting inputs at several levels. A vision to be agile, but an unrelenting commitment to superiority, make for a lean operation.

“In the beginning, I wanted the business to be as agile as possible. I didn’t want to go and follow a traditional model, renting warehouses and large premises. We outsourced all of the logistics and warehousing. When our products arrive in the country, we do quality checks before it goes into third party warehousing. Our customers can then collect direct from the logistics partner. It’s better from a security perspective as batteries remain a hot commodity in SA,” he says of the supply chain, where Rhenus Logistics provides a comprehensive service.

Between 2023 and 2028, the solar industry is expected to grow at around 32%. In just over one year, between 2022 and 2023, the country’s rooftop solar capacity grew by 349% with five times as many batteries being imported compared to the same period 12 months previously. Clearly, the market is there for Hubble and Vincent is confident about growth prospects despite a weak macroeconomic environment.

“The demand has always been there as the price of electricity in SA has been going up exponentially, and there is no end in sight. It’s cheaper to bond a solar system and pay it off monthly than pay the utility. The rental models make a lot of sense,” he says.

“Driving expansion and being at the cutting-edge of technology is my passion. We have already expanded our R&D team significantly and building on our current technology is very exciting for me. By focussing on the tech, we will always continue with expansion.”

In the near future, significant innovation will be announced as new technology is launched to the market that will make storage, balancing, and managing of energy systems even more efficient. The company is committed to R&D and has really big things in the pipeline,” Vincent smiles.

“We are busy developing a new product which is very exciting. It’s an innovative technology that features AI and IoT integration and we are very excited about that.” 

South Africa’s energy transition has barely begun but Hubble Energy has positioned itself as an industry leader. The government has encouraged solar uptake as much as possible. Businesses are keen on protecting themselves against loadshedding, and even when others meander and change direction, Hubble has proven itself to be committed to a strong strategy, providing long-term certainty for clients. Keep an eye on this exciting young energy business as it continues to shape alternative advanced energy storage.