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The New Battery System Can Provide 1 Megawatt of Energy for 150 Hours, Preventing Outages During Peak Hours and Reducing Pollution
Form Energy, which is developing what it calls low-cost, long-duration energy storage for the grid, has signed a contract with Great River Energy, based in Minnesota, to develop a 1-megawatt, 150-megawatt-hour pilot project.
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The second largest electric utility in the U.S., Great River Energy’s facility in Cambridge, Minn., Will be the first commercial deployment of the long-duration energy storage technology from the venture-backed battery technology developer.
The Energy battery system is significant for its ability to deliver 1 megawatt of energy for 150 hours – a major leap from lithium-ion batteries currently used in most grid-scale storage projects. These battery systems can last from two to four hours.
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The radical change in energy delivery duration is expected to allow energy storage projects to replace peaker plants that rely on coal and natural gas to mitigate demand on the grid.
“Long-duration energy storage solutions will play a completely different role in a clean electricity system than the conventional battery storage systems being deployed at scale today”, said Jesse Jenkins, assistant professor at Princeton University, who studies low-carbon energy systems engineering. “Lithium-ion batteries are great for quick bursts of energy production, but they run out of juice after a few hours. A true low-cost, long-duration energy storage solution that can sustain production for days would fill gaps in wind and solar energy production that would otherwise require firing up a fossil fuel plant. A technology like that could make a 100% renewable electric system reliable and affordable a real possibility.”
Backed by over $49 million in venture funding from investors including MIT’s The Engine investment vehicle; Eni Next, the corporate venture capital arm of Italian energy company Eni Spa; and sustainability-focused investment firm backed by Bill Gates, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Form Energy has developed a new storage technology called “aqueous air battery” system.
“Our vision at Form Energy is to unleash the power of renewable energy to transform the grid with our proprietary long-duration storage. This project represents a bold step to prove that the vision of a renewable and affordable future is possible without sacrificing reliability,” said Mateo Jaramillo, CEO of Form Energy, in a statement.
Form’s pitch to utilities builds on more than just an innovative energy storage technology and includes an assessment of how the best companies can optimize their energy portfolios using a proprietary software analytics system. This software was developed to model high-penetration renewable energy at the system level to discover how storage can be paired with renewable energy to create a low-cost energy source that can provide better returns to energy suppliers.
“Great River Energy is excited to partner with Form Energy on this important project. The electric grid is increasingly supplied by renewable energy sources. Commercially viable long-duration storage can enhance reliability, ensuring that energy generated by renewable sources is available all the time to serve our members. This storage can be particularly important during extreme weather conditions that last for several days. Long-duration storage also provides an excellent hedge against volatile energy prices,” said Great River Energy Vice President and Energy Supply Director Jon Brekke, in a statement.
Ultimately, this deployment is expected to be the first of many installations of Form Energy battery systems, according to statements from both companies.
“Long-duration energy storage solutions will play a completely different role in a clean electricity system than the conventional battery storage systems being deployed at scale today”, said Jesse Jenkins, assistant professor at Princeton University, who studies low-carbon energy systems engineering, reiterating a statement. “Lithium-ion batteries are great for quick bursts of energy production, but they run out of juice after a few hours. A true low-cost, long-duration energy storage solution that can sustain production for days would fill gaps in wind and solar energy production that would otherwise require firing up a fossil fuel plant. A technology like that could make a 100% renewable electric system reliable and affordable a real possibility.”
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