Form Energy / USA / Batteries

Form Energy wants to affordably produce long-term energy storage – enough not just for several hours of storage, but for several days or even weeks. The company’s core technology was invented at MIT and has the potential to transform the electric grid by making renewable energy dispatchable year-round.

VisBlue / Denmark/Portugal / Redox flow batteries

VisBlue is a Danish/Portuguese spinout company from Aarhus University and the University of Porto developing an energy storage solution built around a unique vanadium redox flow battery. With the VisBlue Battery Solution electrical power and storage capacity can be scaled independently, allowing users to get a battery that is tailored to their needs. VisBlue has refined the technology and made it scalable so that it is usable in a variety of different contexts, such as industries, large blocks of flats, and private homes.

H2GO Power / UK / Hydrogen storage

H2GO Power is a spin-out company from the department of chemistry at the University of Cambridge. The company has developed a safe method for hydrogen production and storage for providing power on the move. H2GO Power’s PnP units are the size of a standard shipping container which can be transported worldwide for use in permanent or temporary cases. Designed to take in renewable energy and store it as hydrogen for long duration (>8h), the PnP units then release power on demand (conversion using fuel cells or engines). AI algorithms then provide cost-efficient management and optimal storage/response operations. H2GO Power is also developing a drone application solution that aims to increase flight time.

Skeleton Technologies / Estonia / Ultracapacitors

Skeleton Technologies helps to save energy using ultracapacitors, ultracapacitor modules, and full energy storage systems. The technology enables companies to reach significant energy savings in a wide variety of industries ranging from automotive, transportation, and maritime, all the way to renewable energy, power grids, industrial applications, and aerospace. The company’s products are based on “curved graphene”, a proprietary carbon material that provides our cells, modules, and systems with four times the power density and twice the energy density compared to similar products on the market.

Storelectric / UK / Compressed Air Energy Storage

Storelectric is a developer of projects using two highly efficient forms of Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) using existing technologies, at a grid scale, efficiently and cost-effectively. Both Storelectric’s CAES systems offer the ability not only to generate electricity but also store it when there is excess, to respond to intermittency issues and to provide ancillary services to the grid. When there is surplus electricity on the grid, Storelectric’s CAES uses it to compress air to around 70 bar pressure, also storing the heat. When electricity is required, air and heat are released through turbines to generate it. Power rating of storage, power rating of discharge and amount of energy stored are all independent variables in the design of these plants, enabling it to be optimised for baseload, fast response, interconnection, wind farm management and many other load cases.

SENS Sustainable Energy Solutions / Sweden / Underground Thermal Energy Storage

SENS’ smart thermal energy storage allows housing and commercial properties to be heated and cooled with energy stored in the ground. Excess energy is stored in summer and used in winter. SENS has a patent portfolio that includes products and system solutions. SENS’ products and services are used worldwide by both business and public administrations to achieve better sustainability in their energy solutions.

Energy Vault / Switzerland/USA / Gravity

Energy Vault says it has created the world’s only cost-effective, utility-scale gravity-based energy storage system that is not dependent on land topography or specific geology underground. Compared to incumbent stationary energy storage solutions – most notably chemical batteries – Energy Vault provides a sustainable alternative that does not degrade over the life of the project and has competitive performance with round-trip efficiency between 80 to 90% – all at a significantly lower initial CapEx and levelized cost per kilowatt-hour price point.

Adaptive Balancing / Germany / Flywheels

Adaptive Balancing develops adaptive flywheel energy storage systems to support the integration of renewables into the power grid. The company has developed a single flywheel energy storage unit with between 100 and 500 kW of power and a discharge duration of 1 to 6 minutes. The properties can be explicitly tailored to individual applications. The company’s adaptive flywheel makes existing power plants more flexible in order to participate in the balancing energy market.

Malta Inc. / USA / Electro-thermal energy storage

Malta’s electro-thermal energy storage system is a new grid-scale technology that collects and stores energy for long durations. The system takes electricity, converts and stores that electricity as heat, and then converts it back to electricity to be redistributed on the electric grid. In charge mode, the system operates as a heat pump, storing electricity as heat in molten salt. In discharge mode, system operates as a heat engine, using the stored heat to produce electricity. The Malta system is made up largely of conventional components and abundant raw materials – steel, air, salt, and commodity liquids. The technology capitalizes on existing manufacturing and construction ecosystems in the power and oil and gas industries, making timelines to market impact short and low-risk while keeping costs low. Energy can be stored from any power generation source in any location – be it wind, solar, or fossil fuels – enabling reliable and predictable operation of the grid.