Lithium-metal battery developer SES AI Corporation has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with retail energy provider AISPEX to provide up to 100MWh of battery energy storage systems (BESS) at a crypto mining site in Texas, US.
Announced 29 January, SES is expected to provide BESS solutions, including Avatar, the company’s proprietary AI for monitoring battery health and safety. The MOU targets a purchase order pipeline of up to US$45 million, with the first deployment expected to be a 30MWh, US$13 million project completed in two phases at a crypto mining site in 2025.
SES AI is headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts, and was founded in 2012. The company also has manufacturing facilities in Jiading, Shanghai and Chungju, South Korea. The company claims that its lithium-metal and lithium-ion batteries are the first in the world to “contain electrolyte materials discovered by AI.”
AISPEX is a Texas-based retail energy provider which specialises in a virtual power plant (VPP) platform called EnerVision, and BESS development.
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Cryptocurrency mining is dependent on fossil fuels and has a concerning environmental impact. A 2023 study from the United Nations (UN) found that: “A 400% increase in Bitcoin’s price from 2021 to 2022 triggered a 140% increase in the energy consumption of the worldwide Bitcoin mining network.”
Additionally, “67% of the electricity consumed for Bitcoin mining in 2020–2021 was produced from fossil energy sources.”
In 2022, Bitcoin mining and services company Blockstream Mining began construction on an open-source, solar-powered Bitcoin mining facility as a proof-of-concept project for 100% renewable energy-powered Bitcoin mining in the US. The site also uses Tesla’s Megapack BESS solution.
Dallas-headquartered Bootstrap Energy started developing a crypto mining facility in two phases in Corpus Christi, Texas. However, in October 2023, because of falling cryptocurrency prices, it changed plans to replace the second phase with a large-scale BESS facility.
Bitcoin has recently increased in value, topping US$100,000 for the first time in late 2024, following president Donald Trump’s election and nomination of cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins as the next chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Qichao Hu, CEO of SES AI said of the partnership: “Energy storage is a market opportunity we have been actively exploring as a natural fit to exploit our unique capabilities in materials discovery and superintelligent battery management through AI. Our AI-enhanced batteries can extend the life of BESS, and our AI for Safety can improve BESS battery health and safety.”
