November 17, 2024: European lead battery company Monbat is donating equipment and batteries for a new research lab in the Antarctic.

Monbat said the agreement continues its support for the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute, which organizes annual Antarctic expeditions and operates the Bulgarian Antarctic base St Kliment Ohridski on Livingston Island.

The announcement, on November 6, follows Monbat’s agreement in June 2023 to recycle more than 3.5 tonnes of lead acid batteries that have been used to support research projects in the Antarctic.

Monbat is supplying the institute with the batteries and cabinets for external mounting for a new generation of resilient and reliable lead-based BESS systems to be deployed at the newly built lab in the harsh Antarctic conditions.

The company said the units will provide greater available capacity and be part of an integrated system that will support the operation of the research equipment even while the base is uninhabited.

The successful partnership between Bulgarian polar researchers and Monbat dates back to 2018, when the first batches of industrial batteries were delivered.

Bozhidar Nekeziev, commercial director of Monbat’s industrial batteries division, said the firm is also working on an engineering project to test the construction of an integrated system meant to provide electricity for the base all year round, combining the operation of solar panels, batteries and generators.