Long duration energy storage: NYSERDA awards nearly $15 million to four demonstration projects

The Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul on Thursday (August 17) announced nearly $15 million awards to four demonstration projects for advancing long duration energy storage (LDES) solutions that will support NY's electric grid.

In addition to the $15 million award, $8.5 million in funding was also announced to support innovative LDES solutions, devices, software, controls, and other complimentary technologies yet to be commercialized. The latest announcements support the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act which has set the target to install 3000MW of energy storage by 2030 while facilitating further development to 6000MW.

"Each energy storage technology breakthrough reduces our reliance on fossil fuels and marks progress toward successfully integrating renewable energy into communities across the state," said Governor Hochul. "Today's announcement reflects our continued commitment to innovate and develop technology that will allow us to be energy independent and ensure resources are available when and where needed."

The Department of Energy (DOE) defines LDES as systems capable of delivering electricity for 10 or more hours in duration. The latest awards and competitive funding opportunity will be administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and will support energy storage product development and demonstration projects that are over 10 hours to 100 hours and multi-days in duration at rated power.

The New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology (NY-BEST) consortium applauded the NY Governor for providing additional State funding for LDES projects.

"Long duration energy storage is essential to achieving a decarbonized grid and fully displacing fossil-fueled power plants and investments such as these are instrumental to advancing important technology solutions in New York State," said William Acker, Executive Director of NY BEST.

The four demonstration projects that have received the award include:

Ecolectro, Inc.: $1.08 million – To scale-up their groundbreaking polymer chemistry and materials that are expected to significantly reduce the cost of producing hydrogen by electrolysis and create a drop-in replacement for current designs. This project entails scaling laboratory-proven technologies with engineering and validation prototypes to build and test 10-kilowatt (kW) electrolysis units. The electrolyzer unit will be deployed in a pilot demonstration in partnership with Liberty Utilities in Massena, New York.

Form Energy: $12 million – To develop, design and construct a commercial-scale, 10MW/1,000MWh demonstration of a new form of low-cost, long-duration energy storage that aims to be able to both support the integration of intermittent renewable resources and provide multiple days of continuous, zero-carbon power to the grid when called upon. The project will use breakthrough iron-air battery materials that are safe, abundant, ultra-low-cost, and globally scalable from existing supply chains. A project location is to be determined.

PolyJoule, Inc.: $1.03 million – To Install a 2MWh, 167-kW PolyJoule long duration modular battery energy storage system (BESS) in partnership with Eastern Generation at its Astoria Generating Station located in Queens, New York. This demonstration project aims to prove the safety, technical, operational, and economic merits of the PolyJoule Conductive Polymer BESS in a densely populated urban setting. The permitting, installation, and facilitation requirements will show reduced cost-of-deployment advantages and site flexibility. Through multiple years of testing and analyzing data gathered during seasonal fluctuations, PolyJoule, Inc. aims to prove the technical robustness of the system, capable of being deployed anywhere in New York State.

Urban Electric Power (UEP): $703,965 - To install a 100kW/1-MWh BESS using UEP's patented rechargeable zinc alkaline battery technology. The proposed BESS will be designed for LDES applications (i.e., 10 to 24 hour) at commercial and industrial facilities. Specifically, the BESS will provide power resilience to end users, allow for energy reduction through peak demand shaving, and support the electric grid by participating in demand response events. The project is in Pearl River, New York.

"Increasing the state's capacity to store wind and solar energy for increasing amounts of time is essential to meet our climate and clean energy goals, especially as more energy flows to the grid from renewable energy projects coming online," said Doreen M. Harris, President & CEO of NYSERDA. "The energy storage technologies being brought to bear by this program are ensuring New Yorkers will have access to an electric grid powered by clean renewable energy and peace of mind that it's backed by ample storage capacity with safeguards paramount."

For the new funding opportunity, awards will be given in the areas of product development and demonstration projects and cost-share requests for inclusion in federal funding submissions. Details of the solicitation can be found on NYSERDA website.