A disused paper mill in Maine, US, will host a ‘multi-day’ battery storage system as part of a major project to reinforce and upgrade the electricity grid in New England.
Another utility agreement has been signed by Form Energy, the US startup which claims its iron-air battery can provide sufficient stored energy to ride through multiple days of low solar or wind production.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has shortlisted the projects to receive US$325 million for long-duration energy storage (LDES), with technology providers including Energy Dome, Invinity, Form Energy and Redflow.
Iron-air battery firm Form Energy has received a US$12 million grant from the state of New York for a 1GWh long-duration energy storage project, whilst Ecolectro Inc, PolyJoule Inc and Urban Electric Power received smaller amounts.
US utility company Xcel Energy has received approval from Minnesota state regulators to build a 1GWh project in the state using Form Energy’s iron-air battery storage technology.
Groundbreaking has taken place in West Virginia, US, for the factory where startup Form Energy will be mass producing batteries for long-duration energy storage (LDES) applications.
Utility Xcel Energy has received a US$20 million grant commitment from VC firm Breakthrough Energy for projects using Form Energy’s iron-air battery, while a sodium ion battery firm has secured bridge financing.
‘Multi-day’ battery storage startup Form Energy’s proprietary iron-air battery is set to be deployed at the sites of two US coal power plants due for retirement.
