Himoinsa meets challenge of motorsport rally in Sahara Desert

Himoinsa has supplied 20 generators, battery storage systems and lighting towers to support the Rallye du Maroc race in the Sahara Desert, providing power of up to 1MW and light for the temporary village locations for the race.

The rally took place in September and October over 2,200 kilometres of difficult terrain between Agadir and Zagora. Each evening the race bivouac became a temporary working community for mechanics, medical staff, catering operations, journalists and race officials, plus the drivers of the 104 cars, eight trucks and 131 motorbikes competing in the race.

As official power supplier, Himoinsa supported the bivouacs in Agadir and Zagora, supplying HRFW160 diesel gensets, EHR 45/60 BESS units - which provide 45kVA nominal power and 56.8kWh battery capacity – and H-Compact+ LED lighting towers.

Himoinsa provided power and light for the Rallye du Maroc in the Sahara desert. (Image: Himoinsa)

A real off-grid challenge

David Serieys, event coordinator of the Rallye du Maroc, said it wasn’t just the scale of the project that made it difficult; “The real challenge was designing an off-grid system capable of adapting to very different loads while operating continuously in heat, dust and remote locations.

“We combined generators and battery storage because each technology performs a different role. The generators provide the sustained power and reserve capacity the bivouac needs, while the batteries respond immediately to load variations, cover low-demand periods and reduce unnecessary engine running hours.

“The lighting towers were equally important. Once the competitors arrived, the service areas remained active throughout the night, with mechanics carrying out repairs and preparing the vehicles for the next stage.”

Henk van Leuven, manager of the FPT-powered De Rooy rally team, said preparing the trucks for the following day’s racing can mean working long into the night. “The normal maintenance on a truck like ours takes already six hours. Then comes more time to fix damage or whatever else needs to be done.”

Himoinsa supplied 20 gensets, BESS units and lighting towers for the rally. (Image: Himoinsa)

Demanding conditions

said the rally, held in an extremely demanding environment of heat and dust, illustrated the importance of resilience for equipment used on construction projects, mining operations, critical infrastructure and emergency services.

“All [these applications] depend on power systems that must continue functioning when conventional supplies are unavailable or inadequate”, said the company.

“The technology changes according to the application, but the underlying requirement remains consistent. Customers need equipment suited to the task, supported by people who understand the consequences when something goes wrong.

“At the Rallye du Maroc, that combination of technology, experience and practical support helped keep an extraordinary operation running in one of the world’s most demanding environments.”