Quidnet Energy wins funds for 1-MW/10-MWh geologic storage project in Texas

Houston-based Quidnet Energy will receive USD 10 million (EUR 9.65m) in funding from the US Department of Energy (DoE) for a project in Texas that will see its geomechanical pumped storage (GPS) technology deployed in a 1-MW/10-MWh commercial long-duration energy storage system.

Quidnet's technology is described as an adaptation of the well-known pumped storage. It uses excess renewable energy to store water beneath ground under pressure. The pressurised water then drives hydroelectric turbines to produce electricity when needed.

The funding is awarded under a programme of DoE Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), called Seeding Critical Advances for Leading Energy technologies with Untapped Potential (SCALEUP). It is follow-on funding for concepts that have shown potential for commercialisation.

The funds will support a previously announced project with San Antonio-based municipal utility CPS Energy. The initiative will assist the utility in reducing its emissions, while Quidnet will be able to take its technology from a pilot scale to a MW-scale commercial system.

Quidnet and CPS Energy are partnering on the project under a 15-year agreement that provides an opportunity for an expansion to 15 MW.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.965)

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