With Russia regularly knocking out Ukraine’s power grid, the country has turned to high-capacity batteries to keep it connected to the world—and itself. The streets of Kyiv during a blackout last year. Photograph: Mykhaylo Palinchak/Getty Images
High-capacity lithium-ion batteries mean the base stations, Shchyhol said, “should have reserve power sources for at least three days.” And they can recharge themselves when the power comes back online. Two of the biggest telecommunications firms in Ukraine have, between them, already sourced and installed 22,000 new high-capacity batteries.
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With demand for those batteries only increasing as Russia mounts a more serious offensive to break a stalemate in eastern Ukraine, there is a scramble to source more. And not every cell company is about to source tens of thousands of those batteries on their own.
Businesses have been forced to adapt. Across Kyiv, diesel generators parked outside shops and cafés rumble into action as soon as power goes down, and many households in the capital plug their appliances into rechargeable battery systems at home. Oleksandr Bentsa, 30, realised he had a potential solution to hand.
And they can recharge themselves when the power comes back online. Two of the biggest telecommunications firms in Ukraine have, between them, already sourced and installed 22,000 new high-capacity batteries. Shchyhol said his ministry has identified another 8,000 base stations that need to become “energy independent.”