Form Energy to deploy 100-hour iron-air battery system in US

From pv magazine USA

Form Energy, a Massachusetts-based grid-scale energy storage developer, announced a definitive agreement with Georgia Power, a Southern Company utility, to deploy a 15 MW / 1.5 GWh iron-air battery into the utility’s Georgia grid, providing a 100-hour dispatch long-duration energy storage (LDES) system.

The multi-day LDES project is part of Georgia Power’s integrated plan to deploy additional cost-effective clean energy systems for grid reliability and resiliency. Subject to regulatory approval, the battery project is projected to enter commercial operations in 2026.

“Our customers, including many businesses and commercial accounts, are increasingly interested in the use of new technologies such as multi-day energy storage to help grow renewable energy and enhance reliability, especially as they relocate or grow their operations in Georgia,” said Kim Greene, president and chief executive officer of Georgia Power. “Form Energy’s technology is cutting edge and we’re excited to continue to work with them to serve our customers.”

Form Energy and the utility are collaborating to fully evaluate and demonstrate the 100-hour iron-air battery project will strengthen the local grid against normal daily, weekly and seasonal weather variability, in addition to extreme weather events, the developer said. This includes analysis modeled by Georgia Power and input from Formware, Form Energy’s investment and operational modeling software tool for power grids.

“We are pleased to strengthen our relationship through this partnership with Georgia Power and look forward to delivering an innovative multi-day energy storage system that will provide grid reliability and resiliency in their service territory for years to come,” said Mateo Jaramillo, chief executive officer and co-founder of Form Energy.

Georgia Power provides electricity to 2.7 million customers in all but four Georgia counties. In 2022, regulator Georgia Public Service Commission approved the utility’s long-term integrated resource plan (IRP). The utility has already deployed a large grid storage project, the 265 MW McGrau Ford battery facility, a lithium-ion battery project in Cherokee County, Ga., and an additional 500 MW of storage assets.

Besides the Form Energy project, the utility has a 65 MW project under development in Talbot County and a 13 MW project deployment for the U.S. Army located at Fort Stewart, near Savannah, Ga.

Form Energy was founded in 2017 by energy storage veterans who shared a unified mission to reshape the global electric system by creating a new class of low-cost multi-day energy storage systems.

The company began construction of its Weirton, West Virginia battery factory in May and plans to start manufacturing iron-air battery systems in 2024 for commercialization. The Governor of West Virginia, Jim Justice, announced that the state was able to structure a unique financial incentive package worth up to $290 million in asset-based, performance financing to support their decision to locate in Weirton.

The company has raised over $820 million in growth equity funding to date, with a most recent $450 million Series E round completed in October 2022 from TPG Rise Fund, GIC and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Prior investors include Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Capricorn Investment Group, Energy Impact Partners, ArcelorMittal, MIT’s The Engine, Prelude Ventures and VamosVentures, among others.