Energy-Storage.news caught up with Energy Vault CEO Robert Piconi to primarily discuss its gravity-based energy storage solution which, putting it mildly, has its fair share of sceptics.

California governor Gavin Newsom has outlined how the state will reach 100% decarbonisation by 2045, in a policy update which put energy storage front-and-centre in enabling 24/7 clean power.

A large-scale pumped hydro energy storage project in Washington State has passed a key stage of approvals, while another in South Dakota has been dropped.

A tender will open in a few days’ time under NSW’s electricity system roadmap through which 550MW of long-duration storage could be procured.

Geothermal-based energy storage company EarthBridge Energy has secured land rights to deploy its technology in Texas.

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.

The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) is providing £30 million (US$37.5 million) in grants for long-duration energy storage (LDES) projects from Synchrostor, Invinity Energy Systems and Cheesecake Energy.

NextEra’s eight-hour energy storage project in California will use lithium-ion technology, but ‘battery chemistry did not play a major role in project evaluation’, offtaker Clean Power Alliance told Energy-Storage.news.

Invinity Energy Systems will deploy a partially grant-funded 7MW/30MWh vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) system in the UK as the company scales up its project sizes.

Long-duration energy storage (LDES) firm e-Zinc is targeting a gigafactory in the US by 2025 and is considering adjusting its planned project with Toyota Tsusho, it told Energy-Storage.news.