Pilot Demo of Ultra Low Cost, Long-Duration Energy Storage Coupled to Solar Power
Noon Energy Inc.
Recipient
Palo Alto, CA
Recipient Location
13th
Senate District
23rd
Assembly District
$1,487,363
Amount Spent
Active
Project Status
Project Update
In 2022, the team added key team members and demonstrated a scaled-up prototype energy storage system in the lab. To complement this key CEC BRIDGE funding, Noon also raised Series A venture funding in 2022.
In 2023, Noon continued scaleup activities of both the team and technology by further refining the separation and purification technology components as well as the heat management system, and is developing the first demo system for field testing in 2024.
In 2024, Noon made significant progress in this project toward building and testing the demo system module. Noon’s engineering team nearly completed the assembly of the single demo system module and plans to finish the build and test of the module in early 2025. In parallel, Noon completed procurement of the critical system components for the full containerized battery demo system for this project. Lessons learned from the single module build will be leveraged to expedite assembly and commissioning of the full demo system in 2025.
The Issue
Inherently low-cost, safe, and compact energy storage using only earth-abundant, non-toxic materials is needed to support solar and wind energy generation as California moves to a 100% renewable energy future. Pumped hydro makes up the vast majority of stationary storage today, but it is limited to specific locations. Conventional Li-ion batteries offer high efficiency but the cost is fundamentally limited by the relatively expensive metals in which energy is stored. Flow batteries promise lower costs at longer storage durations but have issues related to materials or performance.
Project Innovation
This project will scale up an ultra-low-cost, long-duration battery technology from TRL 4 to TRL 6. The battery stores energy by splitting CO2 into solid carbon and oxygen in a flow battery configuration, utilizing abundant materials and simple reaction chemistry. At <$1 per kWh capacity for the storage media, it will provide long-duration storage at below $20 per kWh capacity, much lower than existing storage technologies. During the project, a 3kW (160kWh) battery will be built and tested.
Project Goals
Project Benefits
By providing inherently low-cost, safe, and compact energy storage using only earth-abundant, non-toxic materials, Noon's new battery technology promises an ideal solution to behind-the-meter, long duration storage for California ratepayers and to fulfilling California's state mandate of 100% carbon-free electricity by 2045. Noon Energy's new battery uses ultra-low-cost storage media (<$1 per kWh capacity) and can match the high energy efficiency of lithium-ion technology. At long storage duration capacity, this new battery enables very low system-level storage cost below $20 per kWh capacity, 70% round trip energy efficiency, and more than triple the system-level energy density of today's lithium-ion batteries.
Affordability
At <$1 per kWh capacity for the storage media, this project will provide long-duration storage at below $20 per kWh capacity, much lower than existing storage technologies. In addition, this will enable making intermittent solar and wind power into fully reliable 24/7/365 renewable electricity supply.
Reliability
This project will develop a new low-cost energy storage technology that can support integration of increasing amounts of intermittent renewable energy supply on the grid.
Key Project Members
Chris Graves
Subrecipients
OxEon Energy, LLC
Match Partners
OxEon Energy, LLC
