US Utility Xcel To Put Form Energy’s 100-hour Iron-Air Battery At Retiring Coal Power Plant Sites
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Energy Storage News.
This is the first two paragraphs.
‘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.
Form Energy said yesterday that definitive agreements have been signed with Minnesota-headquartered utility company Xcel Energy for the two projects, one in Minnesota and the other in Colorado.
On their Technology page, they say this about their battery storage technology.
Our first commercial product is an iron-air battery capable of storing electricity for 100 hours at system costs competitive with legacy power plants. Made from iron, one of the most abundant minerals on Earth, this front-of-the-meter battery will enable a cost-effective, renewable energy grid year-round.
They also seem to be very much into grid-modelling technology. As I’ve build mathematical models for sixty years, I like that!
It does seem Form Energy is on its way.
Form Energy And The UK
This article on the Telegraph, which is entitled Britain Will Soon Have A Glut Of Cheap Power, And World-Leading Batteries To Store It, is proving to be a mine of information about the development of the UK Power Network.
Reliable information about US startup; Form Energy has been hard to find.
But the Telegraph article has these three paragraphs on Form Energy.
Form Energy in Boston – backed by Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates – is working on an iron-air “rust” battery based on the reversible oxidation of iron pellets. It does not require rare and polluting minerals such as vanadium, and will have a 100-hour range.
“The modules will produce electricity for one-tenth the cost of any technology available today for grid storage,” the company told Recharge.
Form Energy has been working with National Grid to map out the economics of UK renewables with storage, and how to cope with future curtailment. And it too praises the UK as a global trailblazer, though its pilot project next year will be in Minnesota.
Note.
- Iron certainly, isn’t an exotic material.
- A hundred hour range is claimed.
- If National Grid have been working with Form Energy, is it reasonable to assume, that they have been working with Highview Power?
- Good to see that Form Energy praises the UK as a global trailblazer. I have noted several times, that the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy seems to be well-advised.
Will National Grid put in one of Form Energy’s batteries? It would be a prudent thing to do, to make sure you get the best.
A Rusting Battery In Minnesota Could Unlock The Electric Grid Of The Future
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the West Central Tribune.
This is the first paragraph.
A pilot project between Minnesota’s second largest supplier of electricity, Great River Energy, and a Massachusetts start-up claims to have a breakthrough in battery technology that would allow for vast expansions of renewable energy on the power grid.
The article goes on to describe Form Energy’s batteries and gives a couple of pictures.
I’m not sure, but it looks like the battery can supply 1 MW for a hundred hours.
Form Energy have impressive backers and have been secretive in the past, but the concept of using iron oxide (rust) as an energy storage medium sounds to me, to be a challenging idea.
Form Energy’s New Low-Cost, Iron-Air Battery Runs For 100 Hours
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Singularity Hub.
This paragraph sums up the genesis of the battery.
A secretive startup backed by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures thinks it may have the answer, though. Form Energy, which was co-founded by the creator of Tesla’s Powerwall battery, Mateo Jaramillo, and MIT battery guru Yet-Ming Chiang, has unveiled a new battery design that essentially relies on a process of “reversible rusting” to provide multi-day energy storage at ultra-low costs.
And this paragraph describes the operation of the battery.
The company’s batteries are each about the size of a washing machine, and are filled with iron pellets and a water-based electrolyte similar to that used in AA batteries. To discharge, the battery breathes in oxygen from the air, converting the pellets to iron oxide, or rust, and producing electricity in the process. To charge, the application of a current converts the rust back into iron and expels the oxygen.
It’s all very fascinating and leads to a battery made from very affordable materials.
The article quotes between $50 to $80 per kilowatt-hour for lithium-ion batteries and around $20 per kilowatt-hour for Form Energy’s battery.
Conclusion
The article is definitely a must-read.
I feel that Form Energy should be added to my list of viable batteries.
Form Energy Discloses A Small Amount
Form Energy has been a bit mysterious, but this article on Energy Storage News, which is entitled Renewables As Baseload Energy: Form Energy’s Multi-Day |Storage Seeks To Replace Gas And Coal.
Form Energy certainly have large ambitions, backing from organisations like Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures and an order for a 1 MW/150 MWh pilot for Great River Energy in Minnesota, and I suspect this is probably enough to ensure success in the mid-size market sector, which they share with the UK’s Highview Power, who are building their first grid-scale 50 MW/ 250 MWh at Carrington to the South of Manchester.
The article is certainly an interesting insight into one of the new energy storage ventures.
Long-Duration Energy Storage Milestones Achieved By Lockheed, Eos And Form Energy
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Energy Storage News.
Lockheed
I find it significant that Lockheed Martin have developed a new redox flow battery, which is a 500kW / 2.5MWh system.
Last year, the company had revenue of nearly sixty billion dollars, with a net income of over six billion dollars. They certainly have the resources and the name to make a big impression on the long-duration storage market.
Their GridStar Flow technology is also detailed on this page on the Lockheed Martin web site.
The page lists these features.
- Optimized for 6+ hours of flexible discharge
- Flexibility to switch between products to maximize revenue
- 100 percent depth-of-discharge with minimal degradation
- A design life of 20 years
- Ability to size energy and power independently
- Mildly alkaline, aqueous electrolytes that are safe (nonflammable, noncorrosive, stable)
- Competitive total cost of ownership
It looks impressive.
EOS Energy
EOS Energy can’t be doing badly, as they’re preparing to list on NASDAQ.
Form Energy
Form Energy are also reported to have had a $70 million investment.
Conclusion
It appears long duration energy storage is doing well across the pond.
My money would be on Lockheed to produce the most successful product.
So, What Exactly Is Long-Duration Energy Storage?
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Greentech Media.
This is the sub-title.
Everyone’s talking about it, and Californians are buying in. Here’s what you need to know about this emerging grid sector.
It describes what California is doing and the sector, with particular reference to Hydrostor, Form Energy and Highview Power.
The article finishes with a section entitled What’s The Catch?
This is the first two paragraphs.
The obvious barrier to a thriving long-duration storage industry is convincing generally conservative power plant customers that emerging technologies quite unlike anything the grid currently uses are safe bets for decades of operation.
Lab tests can reduce the risk, but nothing beats operational, megawatt-scale installations for proving that something works. That’s why the Form deal with Great River Energy is so crucial, as are early projects by Highview Power and Hydrostor. The big exception to technology risk is pumped hydro, which has been used at scale for decades. Those projects grapple instead with high capital expense and environmental concerns.
The article is a must-read and hopefully, this and more articles like it, will convince conservative energy company owners, regulators and governments, that long duration energy storage is the missing link between renewable power and electricity consumers.
At least, the current UK Government has backed two of the most promising British long duration energy storage companies; Gravitricity and Highview Power.
Air-Powered Energy Storage Knocks Out Coal & Gas — Wait, What?
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on CleanTechnica.
After reading, this must read article, it could have had a title with Knocks Out Coal, Gas and Nuclear.
It makes a passionate article for Highview Power’s long term air-powered energy storage and other systems with a similar energy profile like Form Energy.
It also showed this good graphic from Highview Power, which shows how their system works.
This paragraph gives Highview’s view on what their CRYObatteries will do.
Grid operators are turning to long-duration energy storage to improve power generation economics, balance the grid, and increase reliability. At giga-scale, CRYOBatteries paired with renewables are equivalent in performance to – and could replace – thermal and nuclear baseload power in addition to supporting electricity transmission and distribution systems while providing additional security of supply,” enthuses Highview.
The author then chips in with the attitude of the US Department of Energy.
Don’t just take their word for it. The US Department of Energy is eyeballing long duration energy storage for the sparkling green grid of the future despite all the hot air blowing out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
In an interesting twist, the Energy Department’s interest in long duration storage was initially connected to its interest in at least preserving, if not growing, the nation’s aging fleet of nuclear power plants.
Will renewables be able to see off nuclear in a country with plenty of sun and/or wind like the United States?
Conclusion
With a lot of help from their friends in the long term energy storage business, the answer must be yes!
Floating Wind Swells, Hydrogen On A High And Here Comes The 150-Hour ‘Aqueous Air’ Battery
The title of this post is the same as that of this weekly summary on Recharge.
There are three major stories.
Floating Wind Turbines
A lot more floating wind turbines are under development, by the French, Swedes, South Africans and Japanese.
I do wonder, if these structures have borrowed the work done in Cambridge by Balaena Structures, for which I did the calculations, as I wrote about in The Balaena Lives.
From what I remember of my calculations fifty years ago, I suspect these floating turbines can be massive and places, in areas, where the winds are really strong.
I also believe that some could have built-in hydrogen generators and could be placed over depleted gas fields and connected to the existing gas pipes.
Hydrogen
The article describes how oil giants; BP and Shell are moving towards hydrogen.
Battery Storage
They also talk about Form Energy and their mysterious ‘aqueous air battery, which Recharge covered earlier. I discussed that article in The Mysterious 150-hour Battery That Can Guarantee Renewables Output During Extreme Weather.
Conclusion
This article is a must-read.
Recharge is also a site to follow, if you are interested in the developments in renewable energy.
The Mysterious 150-hour Battery That Can Guarantee Renewables Output During Extreme Weather
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Recharge.
The article talks starts by talking about Form Energy, who I wrote about in 150 Hours Of Storage? Company Says That’s True To Form.
As to Form Energy’s technology, they say that there is speculation, that sulphur is the main ingredient.
The article, then lists other technologies, that are under development to store energy.
- Zinc8 – The headline on their web-site is Zinc8 is redefining long-term energy storage.
- Highview Power – Who seem to be close to commercial operation.
- Siemens Gamesa ETES – Hot rock storage now under test in Hamburg.
- Stiesdal Storage Technology GridScale – Under development
- Malta’s molten salt system – See Malta Energy Storage System Is Looking Forward To First Pilot
There’s certainly no lack of entrants for the contest to provide long-term energy storage.
The article is a summary of both Form Energy and the others in the field.
The Anonymous Widower 