Dutch company Battolyser Systems has developed and realized the world’s first integrated battery electrolyzer system. In doing so, they are helping to achieve: an affordable energy transition where sufficient energy supply is guaranteed. To maintain full focus on the sustainable mission and product, Battolyser Systems outsourced IT to PQR.
Outsourcing to PQR
As Operations Manager, Diederick Nierstrasz is responsible for production at Battolyser Systems. “Our ambition is to help change the global energy system to combat climate change. This requires urgency; we need to take big steps now. IT is of course important to us, but the focus is on achieving our mission. We therefore wanted to outsource our IT from the beginning, and after an orientation in the market we chose PQR.”
From start-up to scale-up
The concept of the Battolyser® was developed about 10 years ago at TU Delft. The product is now running as a demo system operationally at the RWE Eemshaven power plant and the company is scaling up further. Battolyser Systems is also growing rapidly: from employee number 1 in May 2021, the company now sits at more than 50, and expects to grow to 150 employees next year.
The collaboration with PQR
The premise of working with PQR was maximum flexibility. As a start-up, Battolyser Systems wanted to invest as little as possible in its own IT, but to purchase it as a service including the associated management services. PQR provides and manages Battolyser Systems’ entire IT environment as a service, from laptops to telephony, network and wifi, high performance computing and cloud computing.
IT, OT and security
Technology is important not only for office automation, but also within the Battolyser® product. Diederick Nierstrasz: “Sustainability starts with measuring; to gain insight, a lot of data needs to be recorded within a Battolyser® system. PQR provides the computing and storage capacity required for this in the form of a computer configured especially for us. Because we also purchase this as a managed service, we did not have to invest in this solution upfront. A great example of how PQR wants to grow with us. Of course, security is also incredibly important to us. The combination of information technology and operational technology we use places specific demands on our security, and PQR helps us with that as well. What I notice is that PQR – like ourselves – makes as many sustainable choices as possible. For example, they do not recommend using the largest firewall by default, but make a balanced choice between functionality and power consumption.”
Next step: data exchange with production sites
Diederick Nierstrasz: “Our systems in the field need to share data with us for analysis and predictive maintenance, among other things, but will often be placed in relatively remote locations. PQR set up a 4G/5G-based connection for us, including the router and modem in the unit itself. Part of that network infrastructure they then also manage for us.”
Flexibility in collaboration
Office Manager Vivienne French is the contact person for PQR’s orders and help desk, among other things. “Our partnership with PQR began with a relatively simple management agreement and we were supported from the SME team. What we ran into in practice is that we have a lot of techies working for us. These came with their own IT initiatives, which did not come to PQR until too late which sometimes created challenges in the functional or security area.
Together we decided to take the collaboration to a higher maturity model. Instead of reactive management, PQR now proactively delivers managed services. We have our own Service Delivery Manager who we are in regular contact with. PQR also implemented the right measures for us in the area of security. We have gone from ‘putting out fires’ to working in a planned and predictable manner, something that both our CISO and Diederick and I are very pleased with.”
The experience with PQR
Vivienne French: “The cooperation is running smoothly. We have a portal where we can easily order laptops for various types of users. In addition, users can create their own tickets there if something doesn’t work. Contact with the helpdesk is also good: if something is not working, it is followed up quickly. At my previous employer, the IT was outsourced to a foreign party and that was a completely different experience. I notice that the people at PQR are really committed and know our company. That works very well.” Diederick Nierstrasz: “PQR not only has the day-to-day IT operation well under control, but also thinks and grows with us at every stage. We have moved three times in three years, and in the process PQR made sure that our IT continued to function. We now have a lab set up with measurement systems that generate a lot of data, and PQR thinks along with us on this too, how best to store and secure it. We are growing as an organization and that means larger volumes of data, more specific requirements, connectivity and so on. I am happy with our partnership with PQR!”
