Scale-up of Ultra Low Cost Long-Duration Battery for Fully Reliable Renewable Power
Noon Energy Inc.
Recipient
Palo Alto, CA
Recipient Location
13th
Senate District
23rd
Assembly District
Active
Project Status
Project Update
Since kicking off the project at the end of July 2024, Noon Energy has made significant progress designing its first 50 kW discharge module in partnership with Papadakis Racing, a California based engineering, procurement, and construction company. Design of the system’s electrochemical module has been completed with assembly anticipated to be complete in Q2 of 2025. The design and assembly of the process module is in progress. All key vendors have been onboarded and orders have been placed for long lead time components. Noon has initiated front end engineering of the second 50 kW module, which will incorporate the learnings from the design, build, and testing of the first module.
The Issue
Today’s commercial battery technologies suffer from high costs, limited depth of discharge, capacity degradation, and pose heat- and fire- related safety risks. These concerns limit the use of existing battery storage technologies for most long duration energy storage (LDES) applications, including long duration backup supply or storing large amounts of renewable electricity from periods of high production to weeks with low renewable production. Concurrently, Californian's have experienced longer lasting reliability events driven by more frequent extreme weather events and public safety power shutoffs (PSPS). As the costs of intermittent renewable energy decline and deployment increases, there is a growing need for improved, long duration power balancing and storage solutions to ensure that renewable electricity can be used to meet demand at any time in any season.
Project Innovation
Noon Energy (Noon), in collaboration with the Electric Power Research Institute and PVUSA proposes to demonstrate, validate, and accelerate the commercialization of a novel low cost and safe reversible solid oxide battery storage system to provide 100 kW / 10 MWh (100 hours). Noon’s system will store electricity produced by an existing solar field in Yolo County to provide low cost, locally available, and resilient power to community partners and critical facilities located in disadvantaged low-income communities. With an ultra-small footprint of just 320 square feet—a single 40-foot shipping container—and an anticipated capital cost of less than $20 per kWh at full commercialization, Noon’s system is uniquely deployable in small, space constrained locations and aims to provide a levelized cost of storage below $0.05/kWh for cost-effective long duration storage.
Project Goals
Project Benefits
Noon's low cost 100+ hour LDES technology can support greater electric reliability for California IOU ratepayers by enabling storage of excess solar electricity for use during solar-deficient winter months to meet year-round demand with renewables. The technology can lower ratepayer costs by enabling storage of low cost renewable electricity to offset more expensive generation from peaker plants and other higher cost generation. The technology also has a pathway to reduced capital and operational costs compared to commercially available storage systems. The project will also validate the improved safety characteristics compared to lithium ion batteries, as Noon's battery system avoids thermal runaway risks with associated fire hazards and toxic emissions.
Safety
In contrast to conventional Li-ion batteries, Recipient's battery system avoids thermal runaway and related fire hazards and resulting toxic emissions/spills. In the unlikely event of a failure of the Recipient's system, based on tests and modeling completed to date, the system simply shuts down and becomes incapable of storing or releasing electricity until repaired.
Affordability
When fully commercialized, the technology will enable 100+ hour energy storage for a LCOS of less than $0.05/kWh – enabled by a capital cost below $20 per kWh storage capacity. In contrast, a typical Li-ion battery system is unable to cost-effectively provide this type of long-duration energy storage; today the cost is more than 10x higher and is expected to remain more than 5x higher even with major Li-ion cost reductions.
Reliability
The technology is capable of cost effectively storing renewable electricity that would otherwise be curtailed for discharging later during times of low renewable production. This could enable multi-day discharge to support reliable grid operations with 100 percent renewable resources.
Key Project Members
Christopher Graves
Subrecipients
Electric Power Research Institute, Inc.
Apillis
Alten
Match Partners
Electric Power Research Institute, Inc.
Noon Energy Inc.
Apillis
Alten
