Tanax Containers
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Container base frames under fabrication
06 / 10

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AI & DC Power

Battery storage, UPS and switchgear enclosures: floors that carry 50 tonnes, envelopes that do not burn.

  • 2,000-3,000 kg/m²
  • explosion relief per EN 14994 / NFPA 68
  • A1 mineral wool
  • liquid-tight steel tray
  • ISO 9001
  • ISO 14001
  • EN ISO 3834-2
  • EN 1090-1 EXC2
  • AQAP 2110
  • CSC approval
  • Defence trade licence
  • Registered defence supplier, CAGE code held

The power side of the same engineering. A 6 MWh battery rack assembly in a 20 ft footprint weighs 40 to 50 tonnes; a standard container floor carries a fraction of that. Tanax builds the enclosure that does: heavier cross-members, a welded 6 mm steel deck that doubles as a containment tray, explosion relief panels, non-combustible insulation, and cable and cooling provisions positioned to your layout.

Specification

Floor

Distributed load
2,000 kg/m² standard, 3,000 kg/m² option
Point load
5,000 kg per pair of rack feet
Cross-members
C 180 × 70 × 5 at ≤ 300 mm
Deck
6 mm S355, welded tight, liquid-tight tray for coolant or suppression water
20 ft internal floor area
~13.9 m², so ~27.8 t at 2,000 kg/m²

Envelope

Insulation
100 mm mineral wool, Euroclass A1, λ ≈ 0.035 W/m·K. PIR explicitly not recommended
Lining
0.8 mm galvanised sheet on a supporting grid

Safety

Explosion relief
panels per EN 14994 / NFPA 68, included as standard, removable on request
Doors
insulated personnel door with anti-panic hardware
Earthing
dedicated earth points, frame bonded

Coating

System
Zn-epoxy 80 + epoxy MIO 120 + PU 60 = 260 µm, ISO 12944 C4-H / C5-M

Provisions

HVAC openings
2 on 20 ft, 4 on 40 and 45 ft, framed and hooded
Cable transits
HV / LV transit plate with sealed glands

Shell

Sizes
20 / 40 / 45 ft high cube, 1CCC / 1AAA, CSC with new plate

Cost structure

Material share of price
~39 %, which is why steel indexation is recommended on long programmes

How it is built

The decisions behind the numbers

Start from the rack weight, not the container.

A 20 ft internal floor is about 13.9 m². At 2,000 kg/m² that is 27.8 tonnes. A 6 MWh rack assembly in the same footprint is commonly 40 to 50 tonnes. So 2,000 kg/m² is the floor of the range, not the answer. Send the rack mass, footprint and foot layout and the structural calculation returns the real number, including transport loads and, where the site requires it, seismic cases.

The deck is a containment tray.

6 mm plate welded tight with no plywood. A coolant leak or a suppression discharge is retained inside the module instead of running out through the floor seams.

No PIR in a battery enclosure.

PIR is combustible. Mineral wool at Euroclass A1 is the default and we will argue for it. Where a thermal target of λ ≤ 0.026 W/m·K genuinely binds, PIR is quotable, on request, with the fire consequence stated in writing.

Explosion relief is priced in, not bolted on.

Panels sized per EN 14994 / NFPA 68 are in the base price. If your fire concept does not require them, removing them takes money out.

Priced bottom-up, and it is defensible.

Material at purchase cost, plus co-operation, plus direct hours at a fully absorbed overhead rate. Not a catalogue estimate. As a benchmark: one Nordic armed forces framework pays a ceiling of €80,000 per insulated 20 ft container with no equipment at all. A Tanax technology container with substantially more content sits at well under half of that.

Configurations

Variants and where to find them in the catalogue

  • No photograph yet

    20 ft BESS enclosure

    • 1CCC HC
    • 2,000 kg/m²
    • 2 HVAC openings
    • explosion relief
    View SKUs
  • No photograph yet

    40 ft BESS enclosure

    • 1AAA HC
    • 4 HVAC openings
    • higher floor steel content
    View SKUs
  • No photograph yet

    45 ft BESS enclosure

    • 13,716 mm
    • pallet-wide option
    • usually stationary, structure can be lightened
    View SKUs
  • No photograph yet

    Non-passthrough variant

    • full-length doors, no service aisle
    • racks fill the volume
    • ~6 % less on 20 ft
  • No photograph yet

    UPS and switchgear enclosure

    • ESD floor
    • environmental control
    • no explosion relief

Options and what they do to the price

ChangeEffect on a 20 ft
Non-passthrough (no personnel door, no service aisle)−€1,450
Without explosion relief panels−€990
Standard 8'6" height instead of high cube−€165
Floor 3,000 kg/m² instead of 2,000+€1,800
PIR instead of mineral wool (λ ≤ 0.026 W/m·K)on request

Build detail

What the detail photography shows

  • Cross-member and floor slot detail during fabrication
    Cross-member and floor slot detail during fabrication
  • Second view of the floor structure during fabrication
    Second view of the floor structure
  • Floor drainage channel in a welded steel deck
    Floor drainage channel in a welded steel deck
  • Welded steel base frame
    Welded steel base frame
  • Cut and formed steel components on the shop floor
    Cut and formed steel components on the shop floor
  • Second view of steel components staged for fabrication
    Steel components staged for the next frame
  • Modular container frame in production
    Container frame in production

Standards

What we build to and what we issue

  • EN 14994 / NFPA 68
  • EN 13501-1
  • ISO 12944
  • EN 1090-1 EXC2 / EN ISO 3834-2
  • ISO 668:2020 Amd 1 / ISO 1161
  • CSC 1972
StandardWhat it covers
EN 14994 / NFPA 68Explosion venting design
EN 13501-1Reaction to fire, Euroclass A1
ISO 12944Coating durability
EN 1090-1 EXC2 / EN ISO 3834-2Steel execution and welding
ISO 668:2020 Amd 1 / ISO 1161Dimensions and corner castings
CSC 1972Safety approval and re-plating

Documentation issued

Floor structural calculation, explosion relief sizing note, coating specification and thickness report, insulation fire declaration, penetration as-built, CSC plate.

Proof

Deployments with a number in them

  1. 01

    A 200-unit-per-year enclosure programme

    Designed and priced bottom-up for a global electronics manufacturer, with a capacity ramp from 4-6 units a month to 17.

    Read the case study
  2. 02

    600 cells in a 20 ft footprint

    Li-ion battery storage and charging enclosure work assessed for two separate Northern European defence and industrial programmes, including a requirement for 300 stored and 300 charging simultaneously, with charging plant, BMS monitoring, capacity testers, cable ladders and fire suppression at ≤ 3 m overall height with an integrated hook-lift frame.

  3. 03

    44 % of available capacity

    What a 200-unit 20 ft programme consumes. Stated openly because a supplier who will not tell you that is guessing.

Scope

What the price includes, and what it does not

Included

  • Enclosure
  • Structural floor with calculation
  • Insulation and lining
  • Coating system
  • Explosion relief
  • Framed openings
  • Cable transit plates
  • Earthing
  • Doors and hardware
  • Inspection protocol
  • CSC plate

Not included

  • Battery modules, racking and BMS
  • PCS, inverters, switchgear and internal electrical installation
  • Cooling and ventilation units
  • Fire suppression system and its certification
  • Delivery
  • Third-party structural review beyond our own calculation
If we have not built exactly this before, we will say so and tell you what we have built that is closest. Two prototype programmes in this factory were delivered below cost because nobody said that early enough. We do not do that any more, to you or to us.

Lead times

By variant

VariantLead time
First article10-12 weeks
Months 1-34-6 units per month
Months 4-88-12 units per month
From month 917 units per month

Same ramp as Data Centers.

Engagement

Four ways to buy

01

Buy a catalogue unit

Pick from 94 published SKUs with full specifications, get a price, get a delivery date.

02

Modify a catalogue unit

Start from a standard shell and change what needs changing. Fastest route to a non-standard requirement.

03

Build to your specification

You bring the specification or the drawings, we review them, we build. Prototype and serial priced separately.

04

Subcontract fabrication

You are the prime, we are the hall. EN 1090-1 EXC2 capacity with AQAP 2110 assurance behind it.

Process

Specification to delivery in five steps

  1. 01

    Send the specification.

    A drawing, a tender annex, or three sentences. Whichever you have.

  2. 02

    Review, in writing.

    We tell you what is missing or contradictory before anyone quotes. 3-5 working days.

  3. 03

    Quotation.

    Bottom-up: material at purchase cost, co-operation, direct hours at a fully absorbed rate. 2-3 weeks for a complex build.

  4. 04

    Design freeze and build.

    Changes after freeze are variations, priced and agreed.

  5. 05

    Test, document, deliver.

    Factory acceptance where specified, full document pack, delivery and installation where quoted.

FAQ

Questions procurement asks

How much can the floor carry?

2,000 kg/m² as standard, 3,000 kg/m² as an option, with 5,000 kg point loads at rack feet. Give us the rack mass and foot layout and we calculate the real requirement.

Why do you refuse PIR here?

Because it burns. In a battery enclosure the reaction-to-fire class is the safety case.

Is explosion relief included?

Yes, in the base price, sized per EN 14994 / NFPA 68. Taking it out reduces the price.

Do you supply the batteries or the PCS?

No. We build the enclosure and the provisions. That keeps the responsibility boundary clean.

45 ft: is it a good idea?

Only if it is stationary. 13,716 mm is not a standard ISO 668 length, most EU states require a road permit, and sea transport of a 45 ft battery container is rare. If it never moves again, we can lighten the structure and reduce the price.

Can you fix a price for a year?

Yes, with an indexation clause tied to steel. Material is about 39 % of the cost.

Send us the specification. A drawing, a tender annex, or three sentences.

You will get a written review of it inside a week, whether or not you buy anything.

Request a quotationTalk to engineering

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