Energy Dome/ LinkedIn
According to Electrek, Energy Dome, an Italian startup that uses CO2 for long-term energy storage, has officially joined the US energy market. The move will open up new possibilities for storing electricity generated by renewable sources such as solar & wind energy.
Countries all over the world are striving to transition to renewable energy sources in order to minimise carbon emissions. In Norway, the world’s largest floating offshore wind farm recently come online, and the energy generated will be used to cut emissions from the country’s oil and gas production facilities.
While the need for renewable energy is increasing, there is also the issue of intermittent production. Wind power produces varying amounts of energy throughout the day, but solar power generation stop at night. To address these challenges, countries are now investing in traditional battery storage technologies that require rare earth minerals, which are not only expensive but also harmful to the environment.
The CO2 battery
Italy-based Energy Dome offers a simple solution to this challenge, using carbon dioxide as a medium to store energy generated from renewable sources. The carbon dioxide based battery works by compressing the gas at normal temperature and pressure to turn it into its liquid form. The resulting heat is stored and used to charge the battery.
When power is required, the battery is discharged by converting the liquified carbon dioxide into a gas, which is then passed through a turbine, which provides energy.
The entire process is a closed-loop system in which no CO2 is emitted into the atmosphere. Energy Dome established a scaled-pilot demonstrator on the Italian island of Sardinia earlier this year.
Entry into the U.S.
Energy Dome has been aiming to expand its reach since then, and according to a press release, it has partnered up with Danish power firm Orsted to research long-duration energy storage options at several sites.
In the United States, Energy Dome is utilising the networking assistance provided by the non-profit Elemental Excelator, a nonprofit organisation that supports and finances the deployment of climate change technology.
An Energy Dome spokesman told Electrek that the firm views the United States as its core market and is confident that initiatives such as the Inflation Reduction Act would promote the expansion of long-duration energy storage systems in the short term.
Because Energy Dome builds its massive carbon dioxide battery with off-the-shelf components, deployment of the technology is extremely simple and quick, with the company expecting its first commercial facility to begin operations as early as 2024.
Elemental, for its part, believes that Energy Dome provides an excellent answer for energy storage, which has been missing from the decarbonization puzzle, according to Electrek.
