First CO2 long duration battery storage launched in Sardinia

Italian long-duration storage developer Energy Dome has launched the first CO2 battery demonstration nationally.

The facility in Sardinia, Italy is aimed to mark the final de-risking of CO2 battery technology as a long-duration storage option as the company takes it to the commercial scaling phase.

Energy Dome says in a statement that the initial phase of operations has 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.

Developed using off-the-shelf equipment, rapid deployment of the battery should now be possible.

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“We can now provide an answer to the most pressing issue of our time: climate change,” said Energy Dome Founder and CEO Claudio Spadacini.

“Our breakthrough technology, the CO2 battery, is now commercially available to make cost-effective renewable energy dispatchable on a global scale.”

Energy Dome claims its CO2 batteries can be deployed at less than half the cost of similar size lithium-ion battery storage facilities and using readily available materials including carbon dioxide and water.

The company is now preparing for its first full-scale commercial facility, a 20MW/200MWh plant which is due to be deployed by the end of 2023.

Other commercial agreements include a 20MW/100MWh facility for the Italian utility A2A and a non-exclusive license agreement with power engineering company Ansaldo Energia on long-duration energy storage projects in Italy, Germany, the Middle East and Africa.

Energy Dome’s proprietary technology is based on a closed-loop process with CO2 as one of a few gases that can be condensed and stored as a liquid under pressure at ambient temperatures.

In charging mode, the CO2 is drawn from the gasholder, the dome, compressed and then stored in the liquid state. When energy needs to be released, the CO2 is evaporated and expanded into a turbine, and then returned back to the gasholder for the next charging cycle.

In comparison with compressed air energy storage, the volume requirement is much reduced, while the cryogenic technology requirements of liquid air energy storage are avoided.

Venture capital backed Energy Dome is planning to launch a Series B fundraising round to fund the rapid commercial scale-up.