Saft batteries powering BumbleBee sensors, a wireless monitoring IoT solution to optimize pressure and temperature in ATEX environments

Saft LS 14500 - Li-SOCl₂ primary lithium battery, a certified solution offering intrinsic safety features, compatible with ATEX (potentially explosive) environments

BumbleBee is a turnkey solution for monitoring production installations in ATEX (ATmosphere EXplosive) areas such as hydrogen and fuel stations, gas networks, oil wells and refineries or chemical processing plants. It has been developed by SRETT, an engineering company that provides IoT intelligence to the industry and health sectors.

Key benefits for SRETT

• A mature and reliable technology that suited for long-term applications
• Batteries with unmatched autonomy: an estimated 5-year lifetime within the application
• A complete traceability of the cells that comply with IECEx 60079-11 part 10.5 and a T4 temperature rating at 60°C
• Expert advice, flexibility, and top-quality service from Saft’s engineering team

Features of Saft’s power solution

• 30-year track record supplying primary lithium battery solutions, that is proven to offer excellent reliability
• A high operating voltage: 3.6 V
• A low self-discharge for an extended life
• A wide operating temperature range from -60°C to +85°C
• A non-flammable electrolyte, resistant to corrosion, hermetic construction, compatible with IEC60086-4, IEC60079-11 and UL1642 safety standards

The challenge: How to remotely monitor installations in ATEX areas? Let us introduce you —BumbleBee, a lightweight and low maintenance solution to optimize operations

What is black and yellow and allows you to collect pressure and temperature data in real time? BumbleBee, a turnkey solution developed by SRETT for monitoring production installations in ATEX (ATmosphere EXplosive) areas.

The ATEX certified sensor automatically and regularly transmits data via LoRa radio technology over kilometers. This easy to deploy and maintain solution dovetails effortlessly with data management systems. An IoT platform stores, processes and calculates indicators and alerts. End users can view and act on these indicators to improve and better coordinate their decision-making.

For this product, SRETT needed a reliable partner that could deliver a long-lasting and autonomous power solution complying with ATEX requirements.

The solution: Saft LS 14500 Li-SOCl₂ primary lithium batteries

Saft LS 14500 battery uses lithium-thionyl chloride and features a bobbin construction, thus offering extremely high energy density and a low discharge rate. This is a perfect combination for long life applications such as utility metering, tracking systems and connected sensors. As a matter of fact, the LS 14500 battery selected by SRETT exceeds the Bumblebee Sensor 5-year life objectives in harsh environmental conditions, despite a very high rate of 24 data acquisitions/day.

Saft LS 14500 batteries comply with IEC60086-4 and IEC60079-11 safety standards, and offer enhanced resistance to moisture, corrosion and flames. Thanks to Saft LS 14500 batteries, the sensor can operate at a wide range of temperatures — certified up to T4 +60°C in ATEX environments— and guarantees performance stability over the device’s whole lifetime.

The close partnership between Saft and SRETT goes on! We are working together to find batteries certified from -40°C up to +80°C in ATEX environments for deployment in harsher conditions.

For more information on the product range, visit the Li-SOCl2 product page.

For more information on tested batteries for ATEX environnements, read our blog article about hazardous locations.