Summary

• The University of Oulu has started a year-long trial combining solar and wind generation, battery storage, and a hydrogen fuel cell to support a remote mobile base station.
• AI-based controls will use weather forecasts and network traffic estimates to coordinate electricity supply, storage, and communications demand.
• The trial is one of six European demonstrations within the 6G-VERSUS project, with performance assessed across changing Arctic seasons.

Researchers in Finland have begun a year-long trial of a mobile base station designed to operate without an electricity grid connection, combining renewable generation, battery storage, hydrogen power, and artificial intelligence to investigate how communications infrastructure can function in remote environments.

The installation forms part of the EU-funded 6G-VERSUS programme, coordinated by the University of Oulu. Testing began in October, with the university confirming the start of the year-long assessment on 2 November. The programme will examine how local power generation and network operations perform together through changing Arctic seasons.

Solar panels and wind generation supply electricity to the installation, while a stationary battery stores energy and helps manage short-term variations in production and consumption. A hydrogen fuel cell provides additional power when renewable generation and the available battery charge cannot meet demand.

An AI-assisted control system is being developed to predict electricity generation and network traffic, using weather forecasts, demand estimates, and machine learning. The researchers intend to use those predictions to coordinate energy availability with communications requirements, rather than managing the power system independently of the network it supports.

Connecting power supply with network demand

Mobile communications infrastructure requires a dependable electricity supply even where the number of users is relatively small. Extending power lines to isolated locations can involve substantial installation costs, while maintaining the connection may prove difficult in areas exposed to severe weather or limited transport access.

Operators can deploy local generation and storage, but they must ensure that enough electricity remains available when renewable production falls. Solar generation varies with daylight and cloud cover, while wind conditions can change independently of the requirements placed on communications equipment.

The Finnish pilot brings several energy technologies together because each addresses a different aspect of that problem. Solar and wind generation provide electricity when conditions permit, batteries help absorb shorter fluctuations, and hydrogen offers another source when generation and stored electricity are insufficient.

Coordinating these resources requires information about both present and anticipated operating conditions. A battery that appears adequately charged may still be insufficient if a prolonged period of weak generation coincides with greater demand from the communications equipment.

AI-based forecasting could allow the management system to anticipate those periods and adjust how the available resources are used. The researchers will investigate the relationship between electricity production, storage capacity, base station consumption, and service continuity, including the limits of maintaining communications when energy supplies are constrained.

Such arrangements involve trade-offs. Reducing power consumption may be possible under some network conditions, but adjustments must not undermine the connectivity that the installation is intended to provide. The research therefore connects decisions about energy management with the requirements of the communications service itself.

An Arctic test across the seasons

Northern Finland offers demanding conditions for evaluating the system because daylight, temperatures, and weather vary considerably throughout the year. A renewable installation that performs adequately during summer may face very different requirements during winter, particularly when solar output falls for extended periods.

The trial’s duration will allow researchers to examine how the combined equipment responds to those changes. Measurements will cover the balance between available energy and network consumption, alongside the continuity of service when the installation depends entirely on its local power infrastructure.

The hydrogen fuel cell provides additional resilience within the proposed arrangement, although the environmental and commercial performance of hydrogen depends on how it is produced, stored, and supplied. Any practical deployment must account for those processes alongside the electricity used by the base station.

Batteries, renewable generation equipment, and supporting systems also have installation and maintenance requirements. Their inclusion may reduce dependence on external electricity supplies, but a lower operating energy requirement does not independently establish that the complete installation has the lowest environmental impact or lifetime cost.

Those considerations form part of the project’s sustainability assessment, which covers environmental, social, and economic outcomes. Researchers will examine potential benefits for underserved communities and remote operations while evaluating the costs and limitations associated with the equipment needed to maintain connectivity.

Dr Sanna Tuomela, coordinator of 6G-VERSUS at the University of Oulu, said the pilot would investigate how renewable generation, storage, and intelligent network management could work together to provide reliable services where traditional infrastructure is limited.

Different requirements for remote networks

Although the demonstration sits within a programme examining future 6G technology, its immediate purpose is to investigate the energy infrastructure supporting mobile communications. The project does not establish that a commercial 6G network is operating at the site, or that a particular communications standard can independently resolve the problem of unreliable electricity supply.

Energy management is relevant to existing and future mobile systems because base stations must continue operating regardless of which generation of radio technology they use. More efficient equipment can reduce the electricity required to provide a service, while improved forecasting may help operators make better use of limited energy resources.

Remote industrial facilities, agricultural operations, transport routes, and communities with limited electricity infrastructure present potential applications for such technology. Their requirements differ, however, and an energy arrangement suitable for one site may not be appropriate where communications demand, available renewable resources, or maintenance arrangements are substantially different.

For essential services, the resilience of the whole network is also important. A base station may maintain local power while relying on external telecommunications links or supporting systems that remain vulnerable to disruption. Local energy independence can remove one dependency without necessarily making the entire service self-sufficient.

Finland is undertaking separate research into AI-native radio network technology through the 6G-ROCKET project. The 6G-VERSUS pilot addresses a distinct problem by testing the physical energy systems and forecasting methods needed to support communications in remote environments.

The wider 6G-VERSUS programme comprises six European pilots covering sustainability applications in areas including renewable energy, agriculture, water management, and public protection. Each demonstration examines a different use of communications technology, allowing the project to evaluate deployment requirements rather than relying solely on laboratory models.

Testing in Finland will continue through the coming year, exposing the installation to seasonal changes in renewable generation and communications demand. The resulting measurements will establish how reliably the combined system can operate without grid electricity and which technical or economic limitations would need to be addressed before wider deployment.