Renewable energy in a shipping container? Been there, done that!

Date: 04/05/23

This week, a team of Israeli scientists and engineers, at a start-up called NT-Tao, announced ambitious plans to develop and build a nuclear fusion generator that will be small enough to fit inside a shipping container. This would harness the same power source as the sun, to provide clean, cheap, emission free energy that could be deployed at off-grid sites almost anywhere.

It may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but here at Think Hire, we’ve been doing exactly that for years! Our Solartainer solar power generators harness fusion energy from the heart of the sun, via state of the art solar panels, to provide clean, cheap, emission free energy on sites across the UK. And yes, it’s the same size as a shipping container.

Combining the best technology

The new NT-Tao project works by combining the two best fusion technology approaches around at the moment, to create a hybrid solution that works better than either system on its own. NT-Tao will utilise two magnet layouts – tokamak, which confines plasma in a doughnut shape, and stellarator, which creates a twisting plasma stream. It is hoped that the sum of these two approaches will be far more powerful than they are on their own, which will create a much higher plasma density, and require a much smaller fusion unit.

Once again, this is exactly what Think Hire have been doing with our Solartainer – combining the best of solar power generators, with efficient back-up diesel units, to create a single, compact hybrid unit that can be deployed trackside, roadside or on construction sites in even the remotest areas.

Clean energy anywhere you need it

Oded Gour-Lavie, one of the founders of NT-Tao, has a vision to use the container-sized fusion reactors to provide clean energy to sites that do not have access to the gird. This will allow people to power all kinds of projects, as well as charging electric vehicles and plant. “The shipping containers can be stacked or manoeuvred to bring clean energy to any area that requires it,” he said.

“It certainly is an inspiring vision,” agreed Neil Richardson, managing director at Think Hire. “So inspiring in fact, that Think Hire have already been doing it for years with our Solartainer solar power generators! We even offer the option of charging electric vehicles and plant using our solar power generators, via our portable vehicle charging points.”

The future is now

Joking aside, nuclear fusion does hold lots of promise for delivering abundant, clean energy for the future, with no problematic nuclear waste, no terrifying risk of meltdown, and most importantly of all, no global warming greenhouse gas emissions. However, this exciting future may still be decades away.

In the meantime, you can cut your emissions, and cut your running costs right now by switching to solar power generators from Think Hire. Make Think Hire your renewable energy partner and we guarantee to reduce your costs, so switching to a greener future will save you money as well as helping to save the planet. Compare that to the $4.8bn of funding needed by fusion research projects so far, with still no working solution in sight, and solar power generators look like a real bargain.

Here at Think Hire, we want to wish the NT-Tao team the very best of luck in their efforts to create a container-sized fusion generator. Meanwhile, if you’d like to find out more about our own container-sized solar power generators, get in touch with our friendly team today on 0330 133 2222 or complete the contact form on our website.

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