Additional Considerations
As data centers continue to expand and evolve to meet increasing demands, ensuring the safe and efficient shipping, handling, and storage of key components—such as rack level lithium-ion Battery Backup Units (BBUs) and AI Racks—has become a critical consideration. The ability to securely store, transport, and maintain these essential products not only ensures operational continuity but also mitigates potential hazards. Americase provides advanced protective container solutions, including BBU Shipping and Storage Cases, Battery Storage Cabinets, BBU Transport and Containment Carts, The Battery Super Box, and AI Rack Packaging, to address these challenges.
Safe Transportation: Minimizing Risks During Transit
While lithium-ion batteries are designed for safe operation, transporting them without proper protective containers poses risks. Rack level lithium-ion battery backup units (BBUs) are classified as hazardous materials, requiring adherence to stringent safety standards during transportation. Mishandling or damage during transit can result in thermal runaway, a hazardous event that requires careful prevention and containment measures.
Specialized containment and packaging solutions are vital for mitigating these risks. Products such as Americase’s BBU Cases, BBU Transport and Containment Carts, and The Battery Super Box are designed to protect batteries and safely contain thermal runaway events within during transit and handling:
- Thermal Runaway Containment: Should a thermal runaway event occur, the BBU Cases and The Battery Super Box (the Containment part of the BBU Transport and Containment Cart) provide robust and proven containment capabilities that keep the fire safely contained within, preventing it from spreading and ensuring the safety of personnel and equipment.
In addition to robust protective packaging solutions, it is essential to follow best practices for loading and unloading hazardous materials and fragile, sensitive cargo. Properly trained personnel who understand the nuances of handling sensitive products can help ensure that safety protocols are followed, reducing the likelihood of accidents. That, combined with protective packaging can help ensure employee and product safety:
- Durable Construction for Maximum Safety: Engineered with rugged aluminum and innovative design, Americase’s packaging solutions safeguard batteries and server racks against physical impacts and environmental factors during transportation and handling.
- Regulatory Compliance: All protective containers are meticulously built and exhaustively tested at our in-house laboratory to meet or exceed all applicable standards and regulations, enhancing safety and reducing liability.
Eliminating the Need for Dedicated Fire-Rated Storage Rooms
Historically, data centers have allocated separate, fire-rated dangerous goods rooms for lithium-ion BBU storage to meet regulatory requirements. While effective, this practice involves significant costs and operational challenges. Dedicated fire-rated storage rooms or off-site facilities require substantial investment and ongoing maintenance to remain functional and safe.
Americase’s robust storage solutions, such as the versatile BBU Cases and Battery Storage Cabinets, are revolutionizing how data centers safely and compliantly manage the critical BBU assets by eliminating the need for dedicated fire-rated rooms:
- Compact, Fire-Rated Storage: BBU Cases and Battery Storage Cabinets provide safe, regulatory compliant storage containers for lithium-ion BBUs. Designed and tested as full thermal containment solutions, these cases enable data centers to store BBUs within existing infrastructure, removing the need for fire-rated storage rooms or separate off-site storage facilities.
- Cost Savings: By integrating these storage solutions into their current environment, data centers can avoid the high costs associated with constructing and maintaining dedicated fire-rated storage rooms or off-site facilities.
- Space Optimization: We designed our storage solutions to enable data centers to maximize their existing real estate within their facility – e.g., BBU Cases feature stackable design to save valuable floor space.
Integrating Safety and Efficiency with Sustainability
Americase’s smart, innovative protective container solutions represent our commitment to sustainability and align with the data center and cloud computing industries’ focus on minimizing environmental impact.
- Reusable packaging solutions with multi-year field life reduce packaging waste and carbon footprint while promoting circular economy.
- Using recyclable materials in the container construction, including aluminum, stainless steel, polyurethane, and more.
- Eco-friendly design of our AI Rack Packaging reduces carbon footprint by streamlining the amount of material used.
- Exceed the EU Packaging Directive 94/62/EC which focuses on reducing packaging and packaging waste, with our BBU cases over 95% recyclable and offering a 10+ year field life.
By choosing Americase, data centers can safely and efficiently transport, handle and store large volumes of lithium-ion BBUs while meeting and exceeding all current and known upcoming hazardous materials regulations. Similarly, our innovative AI Rack Packaging solutions ensure your racks are protected during transport and handling while meeting the highest standards for performance and compliance and minimizing environmental impact. Get started today!