Articles tagged with "long-duration-storage"
Massive Energy Storage Project Greenlit For Brownfield
The article highlights the approval of the Goldendale Energy Storage Project in Washington State, a 1.2-gigawatt pumped hydro facility developed by Rye Development. This project, licensed for 40 years, repurposes a brownfield site—the former Columbia Gorge Aluminum smelter—and leverages existing infrastructure, including roads and transmission lines linked to the nearby Tuolumne Wind Farm. Designed as a closed-loop system, the facility will provide 12 hours of zero-emission electricity storage, addressing the region’s anticipated 30% increase in electricity demand over the next decade. The project is expected to create 3,000 construction jobs over 3-5 years and contribute $10 million annually to local county revenues for schools and civic infrastructure. Pumped hydro remains the dominant form of utility-scale energy storage in the U.S., accounting for about 95% of capacity, due to its proven technology, relatively quick construction timelines, and environmental advantages compared to other storage types. The U.S
energyenergy-storagepumped-hydrorenewable-energylong-duration-storagegrid-capacityclean-energyLoads Of Renewable Energy Can Be Stored In The Air
The article discusses the emerging technology of liquid air energy storage (LAES) as a promising solution for long-duration renewable energy storage. Unlike lithium-ion batteries, which typically provide only several hours of storage and face cost and supply chain limitations, LAES offers the potential for extended storage durations—up to 10 hours in the case of the new projects—and benefits such as longer lifespans, scalability, and less reliance on geopolitically sensitive materials. The technology involves compressing and cooling air to a liquid state at around -194°C, storing it in atmospheric-pressure tanks, and then re-gasifying it to generate electricity when demand peaks, using heat recovered from the compression process. A notable recent development is the 60-megawatt, 10-hour demonstration facility in Golmud, located in China’s Gobi Desert, developed by the state-owned China Green Development Investment Group (CGDG). This project, powered by surplus solar energy, represents one of the largest LAES facilities in the
energyrenewable-energyliquid-air-energy-storageenergy-storage-technologyclean-energylong-duration-storagesustainable-energyWorld's first GWh-scale vanadium flow battery goes online in China
China has commissioned the world’s largest vanadium flow battery energy storage system, the Jimusaer Vanadium Flow Battery Energy Storage Project, located in the Xinjiang autonomous region. Officially operational as of December 31, the project features a 200-megawatt/1-gigawatt-hour (MW/1 GWh) battery system integrated with a 1-gigawatt photovoltaic (PV) power plant. Developed by Rongke Power, this installation is the first vanadium flow battery to reach gigawatt-hour scale and is designed for long-duration, utility-scale energy storage, providing up to five hours of continuous discharge with the capability for intensive daily cycling and extended operational life. The system addresses grid stability challenges in Xinjiang, a region rich in solar and wind resources but affected by grid congestion and transmission issues. By storing surplus renewable energy during periods of high generation and dispatching it during peak demand, the project increases renewable energy utilization by over 230 million kilowatt-hours annually
energyvanadium-flow-batteryenergy-storagerenewable-energygrid-scale-batteryphotovoltaic-power-plantlong-duration-storageGrid-scale iron-sodium battery reaches field-ready milestone in US
Inlyte Energy has achieved a significant milestone by successfully completing factory acceptance testing of its iron-sodium battery system near Derby, UK, marking the technology as ready for initial field deployment. This system, combining sodium metal chloride battery cells with inverters and control electronics, demonstrated an 83% round-trip efficiency including auxiliary loads, comparable to high-end lithium-ion batteries. The iron-sodium batteries are designed for grid-scale, long-duration energy storage, addressing the limitations of lithium-ion technology in multi-hour to multi-day applications by offering improved safety, lower cost, and extended operational lifetime using abundant and low-cost materials. Looking ahead, Inlyte plans to install its first energy storage systems at Southern Company’s Energy Storage Test Site in Wilsonville, Alabama, in early 2026, with ambitions to scale production within the US. The company emphasizes the importance of developing domestic, cost-effective, and safer battery technologies to meet the evolving needs of the US energy grid. Southern Company highlights the growing demand for long
energybattery-technologyiron-sodium-batterygrid-scale-energy-storagelong-duration-storagerenewable-energyenergy-storage-systemsFourth Power’s sci-fi thermal batteries could be cheaper than pricey natural gas power plants
Fourth Power, a Cambridge, Massachusetts startup, is developing innovative long-duration thermal batteries that use superheated molten tin and argon-filled sealed chambers to store and release electricity. The system works by heating carbon blocks with electricity inside insulated argon chambers; when power is needed, molten tin heated to 2,400°C circulates through graphite pipes, and thermophotovoltaic cells convert the heat’s infrared light back into electricity. This technology aims to provide continuous electricity for eight or more hours—double the duration of typical lithium-ion grid batteries—while maintaining energy losses as low as 1% per day thanks to insulation made from petroleum coke. The company has spent two years refining the technology and is preparing to build its first full-scale 1-megawatt-hour demonstration battery, backed by $20 million in Series A Plus funding led by Munich Re Ventures, with participation from Breakthrough Energy Ventures and DCVC. Fourth Power projects that its thermal batteries could be commercially available by 2028 at
energythermal-batteriesenergy-storagemolten-tinthermophotovoltaic-cellsgrid-scale-batterieslong-duration-storageGoogle Has An Energy Storage Message For Fossil Fuels
Google is advancing into long-duration energy storage with a novel CO2-based battery technology developed by the Italian startup Energy Dome. This innovation compresses CO2 into a liquid state at ambient temperatures, enabling a closed-loop system where CO2 is cycled between gas and liquid phases to store and generate electricity. Unlike current lithium-ion batteries, which typically provide around four hours of storage, Energy Dome’s system aims for 8 to 24 hours of energy storage, addressing the need for longer-duration solutions critical for integrating high levels of intermittent wind and solar power into the grid. The first US deployment, the Columbia Energy Storage Project in Wisconsin, supported by utility Alliant Energy and others, received regulatory approval and is expected to be operational by 2027. This project is designed to enhance grid stability and resilience, providing enough electricity to power approximately 18,000 homes for 10 hours. The emergence of such long-duration storage technologies poses a significant challenge to fossil fuel power plants, particularly natural gas, by enabling
energy-storageCO2-batteryrenewable-energylong-duration-storagewind-energysolar-energyEnergy-DomeAugWind Energy To Install First Commercial-Scale AirBattery In Germany - CleanTechnica
AugWind Energy, an Israeli company, is set to build the world’s first commercial-scale AirBattery system in Germany, utilizing compressed air stored in salt caverns to generate electricity. This innovative system can store gigawatt-hours of energy by compressing excess renewable electricity—primarily from wind and solar—and storing it for long periods, potentially up to several months. This long-duration storage capability addresses a critical need for renewable energy backup during extended low-generation periods, such as Germany’s “Dunkelflaute” when solar and wind output is minimal. The AirBattery technology typically can store between 3 to 8 GWh of electricity per cavern, with the final capacity depending on the specific salt cavern selected. The project cost is estimated between 7 to 15 million euros, largely influenced by the cavern’s pressure range. The salt caverns used are naturally airtight due to their dense, pressurized structure, a characteristic that has allowed their use for storing compressed natural gas and other gases safely for
energyenergy-storagecompressed-airrenewable-energyAirBatterylong-duration-storageGermanyRust-powered battery to deliver 100-hour backup in California
Form Energy is set to deploy a novel iron-air battery system near a Pacific Gas & Electric substation in Mendocino County, California, by early 2026. Backed by a $30 million grant from the California Energy Commission, this 1.5-megawatt, 150 megawatt-hour battery can power approximately 1,500 homes for four days, offering a significant leap in long-duration energy storage. Unlike conventional lithium-ion batteries that rely on ion movement, this system generates electricity through a reversible rusting process, oxidizing iron to produce power and then reversing the reaction during charging. Although iron-air batteries have a lower round-trip efficiency (~60%) compared to lithium-ion (>90%), they provide advantages such as reduced fire risk, less degradation, and the ability to deliver continuous power for up to 100 hours—over 20 times longer than typical lithium-ion systems. California currently depends heavily on lithium-ion batteries for its 16 gigawatts of storage capacity, but
energybattery-technologyiron-air-batteryenergy-storagegrid-backuprenewable-energylong-duration-storage