LG Energy Solution partners with German academics on next-gen batteries and greener manufacturing
LG Energy Solution will work to develop next-gen battery electrolytes and investigate greener battery manufacturing processes in partnership with two German academic institutions.
The South Korea-headquartered battery and battery storage technology company said today (7 June 2022) that it will work on the subject areas with Münster Electrochemical Energy Technology (MEET) at the University of Münster and Helmholtz Institute Münster (HI MS) at Forschungszentrum Jülich.
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The joint battery research programmes are LG Energy Solution’s (LG ES) first in Europe and follow similar partnerships with Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) on next-gen batteries and work on developing all solid-state batteries with University of California San Diego in the US. The collaborations and their research will be funded by LG ES’ own Frontier Research Laboratory programme, which the company said it will continue to expand globally. Its work with the two German institutions will focus in particular on ways to boost battery cell performance through key metrics including cycle life and energy density.
Siemens Energy collaborates with LDES Council founding member Corre Energy
Siemens Energy has signed an agreement to collaborate with Corre Energy, a European company focused on long-duration energy storage based on compressed air technology.
The energy arm of the Germany-headquartered tech and engineering company and Netherlands-headquartered Corre Energy have formed a ‘Global Collaboration Agreement,’ Corre said, which will help the energy storage company accelerate the buildout of its projects and systemise its overall approach to project delivery.
Corre Energy is one of the founding members of the international Long Duration Energy Storage Council (LDES Council). The trade group published a report authored by McKinsey late last year which forecasted a need for about a terawatt-hour of long-duration energy storage (LDES) worldwide by 2025 to keep in line with Paris Agreement commitments to decarbonising the economy.
In a Guest Blog published today on this site, Corre Energy chief strategy officer Patrick McClughan wrote about that report and said that REPowerEU, the European Union’s plan and strategy to transition away from dependence on Russian fossil fuels, offers a strong impetus to invest in and deploy LDES in the continent.
The company said yesterday that its collaboration with Siemens Energy will include a “strong joint advocacy approach” to demonstrate the benefits of compressed air energy storage in underground caverns. Corre Energy is currently developing projects in the Netherlands and Denmark and aims to have at least eight projects operational by 2030.
“Siemens Energy is a recognised leader in the development of cutting edge CAES technology such as their ground-breaking expansion and compression technology,” Corre Energy CEO Keith McGrane said.
“The Siemens Energy CAES system is designed to master the dynamic energy market environment with increasing renewables offering high efficiency, reliability, and flexibility.”
Draft License Application for US$2.5 billion Wyoming pumped hydro project
Developer rPlus Hydro has taken the next step in advancing a proposed 900MW pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) project in Wyoming, US.
rPlus Hydro said it has submitted Draft License Application documents to authorities including state and Federal agencies for its Seminoe Pumped Storage project, at Seminoe Reservoir near Rawlins, Wyoming.
In November last year, Energy-Storage.news reported that the project is proposed to enable 10 hours storage duration as the developer appointed infrastructure design, engineering and project services company Stantec to carry out a feasibility study.
Authorities will now begin a 90-day review of the application, before it can be submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as a Final License Application.
rPlus Hydro estimated the project will cost about US$2.5 billion to build, creating up to 500 skilled jobs during the three to five years required for its construction and create about 35 permanent jobs as well as contributing around US$10 million in taxes to the local area.
“rPlus Hydro is thrilled to take this next step in advancing the Seminoe Pumped Storage project in Wyoming, a state that is a rich source of energy production – especially in wind generation. We are proud to be developing a project that will enable Wyoming to benefit from these emerging resources,” rPlus Hydro president Luigi Resta said, adding that the local area will also benefit from the taxes raised and jobs created while enhancing the reliability of the state’s electricity infrastructure.
