Interview: Instagrid eyes rental in portable power push

Of all the new power technology coming onto the market worldwide, there is one German company that is making waves with its portable battery charging units.

Stuttgart-based Instagrid, founded in 2018 by former Bosch employees Dr Sebastian Berning and Dr Andreas Sedlmayr, was ranked the 13th fastest growing company in Europe by the Financial Times in 2024, and early last year it completed a US$95 million funding round that has enabled it to expand into North America.

Instagrid says the portability of power supply units is essential on the construction site. (Photo: Instagrid)

The secret to its rapid expansion lies in the clever application of battery technology to create small, hand-carried battery packs that will both power corded tools or recharge tool batteries.

The company says it has sold 60,000 to 70,000 devices globally, with many of its customers from the construction sector – for applications including welding, breaking, core-drilling, saws and cutters.

Instagrid also supplies TV, film and media for live events, where the packs are used to power equipment such as LED lights, fog machines and camera cranes. And it is exploring new opportunities in the oil and gas and other industrial sectors.

The company’s first product was the Instagrid ONE, with an output voltage of 230V or 240V for use in European countries. This product, which weighs 20kg, can power electric devices with a rated output power of 3.6 kW (16A), with a peak power output of 18 kW (80A) and a rated energy capacity of 2.1 kWh.

In October last year it launched Instagrid GO - with an output voltage of 110V and 120V - for the UK and North American markets. It has the same rated outputs as the ONE, but weighs a little more at 21kg.

A further LINK 36 product, introduced in June last year, is a power distributor that allows several Instagrid packs to be combined and which also allows up to three devices to be powered at one time. It also allows an “island mode” or a backup mode, in which Instagrid’s battery units can be hot-swapped without interrupting the power supply.

The list price for Instagrid ONE is €3450 and the LINK is €790. Instagrid says pricing is fairly consistent across markets.

Technology advantage?

There are numerous suppliers of portable energy storage devices, so what is it about Instagrid’s technology that is proving attractive?

“Most of our competitors’ products have the same basic architecture: a bank of batteries connected to a central inverter”, an Instagrid spokesperson tells IRN, “The downside of this design is that the large inverter produces heat, which typically needs to be dissipated with active cooling (fans).

“This adds bulk, reduces sturdiness, makes proofing against dust and water more difficult, and of course powering the fans results in energy loss.”

Instagrid’s devices are ideal for recharging small tools such as drills, grinders and saws. (Photo: Instagrid)

The solution adopted by Instagrid for its ONE and GO units is to have 24 battery modules, each containing four cells. Every module is equipped with its own so-called ‘micro-level’ inverter and each module outputs an AC current.

“The modules are distributed evenly, thus cooling occurs passively through the product’s IP-54 rated casing”, says Instagrid, “The tricky thing technologically is synchronising the output from the modules to ensure that the device produces a pure, consistent sine-wave. We solve this using proprietary software and electronics.”

The spokesperson also highlights the “very high peak power” of 18kW; “This is particularly important for applications with demanding peak power requirements such as PE welding.

“So far no one has built an equivalent product that works the same way. If someone were to try, we do of course have a significant head-start now in the industry.”

Growth in the UK market

Rental customers in Europe include Loxam, Boels, HKL and Ramirent, as well as UK hirers like Brandon Hire Station (the VP plc tool hire division). The UK is just one of the markets where its products are gaining traction in rental.

Matt O’Hara, Instagrid’s sales director for the UK & Ireland, tells IRN that the growth of its business demonstrates how quickly people are moving away from a traditional solution to a clean energy solution; “We doubled our sales in the UK last year from 2023. And we will do that again this year.”

The company has seen strong growth in the UK since the launch of the GO unit last year; “We’ve seen a huge uptake since we launched a 110V product in the UK”, says O’Hara, “particularly within the civil sector, utility sector, general construction work.

“People are saying: we no longer need to use two or three 7kVA (kilovolt-amperes) petrol diesel generators. We can use an instant route with 18,000 watts of power.

“With our products, people don’t have to rely on a maintenance-heavy diesel generator. They don’t need to run long cable lines and have voltage drop issues. They are not going to have operator issues when their nine-inch grinders are asking for power that the 7kVA or 10kVA diesel power generator can’t deliver.”

Powering energy-intensive tools

O’Hara says the key challenge of electric power supply on construction sites is the lack of a reliable solution that can provide enough optimal power, or so-called peak power, to power tools such as diamond core drills, slotted drive system (SDR) drills, and pumps. These tools are highly reliant on transient bursts of high power to operate.

“Our device has enough front-end power to sufficiently deliver energy to most energy-intensive tools...I am talking about plasma cutters,” he says.

Instagrid says its battery units can power energy-intensive tools. (Photo: Instagrid)

“To power these tools, you need to provide a recharge facility for 18V batteries in a remote location,” he says. “That’s where the LINK comes in. It allows you to add two more [Instagrid ONE] devices that can be hot swapped in and out and gives you a robust back-end storage that can last longer.”

The battery packs are capable both of running corded tools or recharging battery powered tools, so what is the main mode of operation?

“Our experience”, says an Instagrid spokesperson, “is that customers generally purchase our products with the main intention of powering corded devices, but do enjoy the additional benefit of being able to charge smaller batteries if the need arises.”

Hidden costs of diesel generators

Generally, it is cheaper to buy a diesel power generator than a battery system. However, Instagrid points to the costs of the diesel genset in terms of fuel, maintenance and other hidden costs.

“It could cost well over £1,000 (€1,184) a year just to maintain a 5-6kVA diesel generator,” O’Hara says. “Ours is maintenance-free. There is no fuel in it. And the fuel element could sometimes lead to problems on site.

“Imagine this: some workers get out of bed at 6 am and walk to a construction site in cold weather...They try to start up a diesel generator but its cord snaps, and the fuel in it is waxed. The generator no longer works properly or delivers the optimal amount of power as it is not properly maintained.”

He adds that portability is another key advantage of its products over other renewable energy options, such as hydrogen fuel cells and solar panels.

“We have an advantage over other clean energy options because our solutions are far more portable,” he says. “They’re easier to deploy and a lot cheaper to run.

“You can carry it in one hand as it’s 20 kilograms. No other technology currently out there is doing it.”

Currently, the company sources its battery cells from South Korea and produces its devices in Hungary and Poland. It has plans to start manufacturing in the US.

Instagrid’s rapid growth and innovative solutions highlight the shifting demand for cleaner, more efficient energy alternatives in the construction and industrial sectors.

By addressing key challenges such as power reliability, portability, and cost of ownership, the company is carving out for itself a strong position in the transition towards new power products.

It is also creating a product that looks ready-made for the equipment rental industry.