Italian start-up energy dome has now started shipping the world’s first CO2 battery, which was launched earlier this month in Sardinia, Italy. The battery uses carbon dioxide to store renewable energy on the grid, and Energy Dome says the technology can be quickly deployed anywhere in the world.
June 28 update: Energy Dome today announced that it has secured $11 million in interim financing to purchase equipment for a 20 megawatt/200 megawatt-hour/10-hour facility for Italian utility A2A , with which it has a memorandum of understanding.
Asset management firm CDP Venture Capital Sgr’s Evolution fund, together with existing investor Barclays, led the convertible financing. The Swiss family office Novum Capital Partners, existing shareholder of Energy Dome, has also joined the round.
With the closing of this latest convertible round, Energy Dome has now raised a total of nearly $25 million since the company exited stealth mode in February 2020. Its Series B round is slated for later in 2022.
The world’s first CO2 battery
Energy Dome implemented the CO2 battery in Sardinia to promote speed to market and ease of execution, as it is in an industrial area with an existing electricity connection. Additionally, Sardinia currently uses coal, but the fossil fuel will be phased out by 2025. The battery can be coupled to both wind and solar.
Energy Dome began operations in February 2020 and went from concept to full multi-megawatt scale testing in just over two years.
Energy Dome Founder and CEO Claudio Spadacini said:
The CO2 battery is now commercially available to make renewable energy cost effective and globally dispatchable.
Energy Dome said its CO2 battery plant in Sardinia uses off-the-shelf equipment available from an established global supply chain, and said the rapid global deployment of the CO2 battery is now possible without bottlenecks.
The company has entered into several commercial agreements, including one with the Italian utility A2A for the construction of the first installation of 20 MW-5h. Earlier this year, Energy Dome also signed a non-exclusive license agreement with Ansaldo Energia, a power plant and component supplier, to build long-term energy storage projects in Italy, Germany, the Middle East and Africa.
Energy Dome’s plan is backed by investors that include European high-tech venture capital firm 360 Capital, Barclays, Novum Capital Partners and Third Derivative.
How the CO2 battery works
CO2 is one of the few gases that can be condensed and stored in liquid form under pressure at room temperature. Thus, as Energy Dome states on its website, it is the ideal fluid for cost-effectively storing energy in a closed thermodynamic process. It allows high density energy storage without the need to go to extremely low temperatures.
spadacini Explain how does it work for Bloomberg in May:
To charge the battery, CO2 is taken at a temperature and pressure close to the atmosphere and compressed. The heat generated during compression is stored. When we exchange thermal energy with the atmosphere, the CO2 gas becomes liquid.
To generate and distribute electricity, liquid CO2 is heated and converted back into a gas that powers a turbine, which generates electricity. CO2 gas is still contained and the entire system is sealed.
We do not use any exotic materials. The technology uses steel, CO2 and water. There is therefore no dependence on rare earths such as cobalt or lithium. This makes our technology geopolitically independent. It can be produced anywhere and it can be used anywhere.
Energy Dome made a short video last year demonstrating how its CO2 energy storage works:
Electrek’s Grasp
June 28 update: This is an extremely exciting innovation, and the fact that Energy Dome now has the funds to deploy its commercial product for A2A is a very big deal. We can’t wait to see what’s next.
This is definitely something to watch out for, as a CO2 battery doesn’t use rare earth materials, and that’s very important. It seems cost-effective and downright democratic. This battery has great potential and we can’t wait to see if it rolls out quickly globally.
Read more: Solar and battery storage accounts for 60% of planned new power generation capacity in the United States
Photos and videos: Energy Dome
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