Energy Dome demonstrates world’s first CO2 Battery energy storage facility

Energy Dome has successfully launched the first commercial long-duration energy storage technology on the market. (Photo: Energy Dome)

Energy Dome, a provider of utility-scale long-duration energy storage, has successfully launched its first CO2 Battery facility in Sardinia, Italy. The final de-risking of the CO2 Battery technology and entrance into the commercial scaling phase makes it the first commercial long-duration energy storage technology on the market, the company states, providing a reliable alternative to fossil fuels for dispatchable baseload power globally.

Energy Dome began its operations in February 2020 and has progressed from a concept to full testing at multi-megawatt scale in just over two years. This successful launch is in part due to the unique nature of the company’s technology, which integrates known components in a novel industrial process based on a thermodynamic process that efficiently stores energy by manipulating CO2 under different state conditions in a closed thermodynamic transformation.

According to the company, “the initial phase of operations confirmed the performance of the CO2 Battery and its capability of storing energy for a long duration, all while maintaining highly competitive round-trip efficiency, without degradation or site dependency.” The demonstration project also used off-the-shelf equipment available from a globally established supply chain – meaning the technology can be quickly deployed at reportedly less than half the cost of similar-sized lithium-ion battery storage facilities, using readily available materials such as carbon dioxide, steel and water.

Claudio Spadacini, founder and CEO of Energy Dome, said the commercial availability of the CO2 battery will “make cost-effective renewable energy dispatchable on a global scale.” The company has already secured multiple commercial agreements, including with an Italian utility A2A for the construction of a first 20MW-5h facility. In addition, earlier this year, it signed a non-exclusive license agreement with Ansaldo Energia, a major provider of power generation plants and components, to build long-duration energy storage projects in Italy, Germany, the Middle East and Africa.

Energy Dome is currently preparing for its first full-scale 20 MW to 200 MWh plant, with its first commercial project, Commercial Operation Date, expected to be deployed by the end of 2023. To fund the rapid commercial scale-up, the company plans to launch a Series B fundraising round for prospective investors.