New York Governor Hochul awards $15m for long duration storage projects

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has awarded approximately $15 million in funding to four long duration energy storage demonstration projects.

The projects receiving awards are:

• Ecolectro, Inc.: $1.08 million – To scale-up their 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 10kW 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 yet to be determined.
  
  
• PolyJoule, Inc.: $1.03 million – To Install a 2MWh, 167kW 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 analysing 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.
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• Urban Electric Power (UEP): $703,965 - To install a 100kW/1MWh BESS using UEP’s patented rechargeable zinc alkaline battery technology. The proposed BESS will be designed for long duration energy storage applications (that is, ten 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 located in Pearl River, New York.

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In addition to these awards, $8.15 million in funding has been made available to support “innovative long duration energy storage solutions, devices, software, controls, and other complimentary technologies yet to be commercialised”. 

Project submissions should “advance, develop or field-test hydrogen, electric, chemical, mechanical or thermal-electric storage technologies that will address renewable integration challenges, such as grid congestion, hosting capacity constraints and siting in New York City.

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