Goldman Sachs just made a record-setting investment in…

An iconoclastic Canadian startup just raised a landmark investment from Goldman Sachs to build massive storage for clean energy. scrolledValue "> Linkcopiedtoclipboard GoldmanSachsjustmadea record-settinginvestmentinlong-durationenergystorage Thebankinggiantisbetting$250MonCanadianstartupHydrostoranditsnovelundergroundsystemtostorecleanenergyforthe grid. 10January2022 Hydrostor'sadvancedcompressed-airenergystoragefacilityinGoderich,Ontario,Canada(Hydrostor) Linkcopiedtoclipboard JulianSpector AniconoclasticCanadianstartupjustraiseda landmarkinvestmentfromGoldmanSachstobuildmassivestorageforcleanenergy. Hydrostorstoressurpluselectricitybycompressingairintoundergroundcaverns.Itupdatesa long-standingtechnologythatnevertookoffforelectricalstorage.Hydrostorthinksthetweaksithasmadewillallowundergroundstoragetoworkinmoreplaces—justasgridsincreasinglyneedhelpturningwindandsolarproductionintoreliable24/7electricity. GoldmanSachsagreedandinvested$250millionfromitsprivateequitydivision.That’sunusualforthelong-durationenergystoragesector,whichtypicallydrawsriskierventure-capitalinvestment. SubscribetoreceiveCanary'slatestnews “Itisgrowthcapital;it’snot​‘provethetechnology’venturecapital,”HydrostorCEOCurtisVanWalleghemtoldCanaryMediaonMonday.​“Wewereabletoshowthemhowcompellingthetechnologyisandhowadvancedourdevelopmentprojectsare.” Thisinvestmentexceedsthe$240millionthatFormEnergyraisedlastyeartocommercializeitsnoveliron-airbatterytechnology.ThatmakesHydrostor’sraiseoneofthelargestcorporateinvestmentsevermadeina long-durationstoragecompany. Thisportendspalpableaccelerationfora startupthatcamea longwaywhilespendingrelativelylittlemoney.  HydrostormadestrategicuseofCanadiangovernmentgrantstodevelopitsearlydemonstrations.ThecompanygotanearlycommercialprojectrunninginOntario’swholesalepowermarketin2019.Thatoneissmall,just2 megawatts/​10 megawatt-hours,butgeneratesaround$1millioninannualrevenue.Havinga megawatt-scaleprojectmakingmoneyina powermarketisa basicachievementthatstillcontinuestoeludemanylong-durationstoragestartups. Hydrostorputaround$5millionintodevelopmenteffortselsewhere.Thatworkproducedthreelate-stageprojectsthat,ifbuilt,wouldrequire$2.5billionofconstructioncapitalandgenerateatleast$5billionofcontractedrevenue,VanWalleghemsaid. TwoofthoseprojectsareundergoingenvironmentalpermittingreviewinCalifornia.OneisproposedfortheCentralCoast,tohelpcopewiththelossofbaseloadcarbon-freepowerfromDiabloCanyon,thenuclearplantslatedtocloseby2025.ThesecondwouldgointotheCentralValley,neara hotspotforlarge-scalesolardevelopment.ThethirdprojectisplannedforAustralia.  GetCaughtUp FormEnergywins$450Mtorustironformultidayenergystorage JulianSpector EnergyDomeisonthebrinkofa long-durationstoragebreakthrough JulianSpector Chart:OutpacingevenChina,theUStakestheleadingridbatteryinvestment JulianSpector,MariaVirginiaOlano Tobuildtheseprojects,Hydrostorexcavatesan8-foot-diametershaftthatgoes2,000 feetdeep.Workersdescendtohollowouta cavity,whichthecompanythenfloods.Whenit’stimeto​“charge,”theabovegroundfacilitycompressesairandshootsitbelowthewaterbarrier.Todischarge,itreleasesthecompressedair,whichspinsa turbineandproduceselectricity. (Hydrostor) Theseprojectsaredesignedforeighthoursofdischargeatfullpowercapacity.Butthetechnologycanprovidelongerstoragedurationswitha biggercaverntoholdmore air. Thatkindofduration,atthescaleofhundredsofmegawatts,putsHydrostorintocontentionwitha conventionalpumpedhydroplant,whichisbyfartheleadingsourceofgrid-scaleenergystorage.Butpumpedhydrorequiresa sitewithsignificantchangesinelevationandcopioussuppliesofwater.Hydrostor’sconceptboastsa dramaticallysmallerfootprintandrelativelynegligiblewaterneeds,makingitmoregeographicallyversatile. “Allweneedisreasonablycompetentbedrock,”VanWalleghemsaid. Withtheinfluxofcash,Hydrostoraimstodoubleitsroughly25-personstaffthisyear,VanWalleghemsaid.Crucially,itwillalsoexpanddevelopmentactivitiestonewmarkets,includingEuropeandtherestoftheU.S.Anditwillhaveresourcestopursuenewdevelopmentswhilebringingitscurrenteffortsfullytofruition,whichisexpectedtotakefour years.  Hydrostorwillalsohone24/7cleanenergyofferingsforlargecorporatecustomersthatwanttostepuptheirsustainabilitycommitments.Combiningwindandsolarcontractswitha Hydrostorfacilitycouldachievetheround-the-clockcleanenergygoal. “Wehavea mousetrapthatwetrulybelieveisbetterthanotherpeople’smousetraps,”VanWalleghemsaid.​“Wherewechoosetoplayandputourmoney,weexpectto win.” Therosterofcompetitorsisincreasinglywellfunded,butleadershipofthisnascentmarketisstillverymuchupfor grabs. Long-durationenergystorage Climatetechfinance Corporateprocurement Energystorage JulianSpector isseniorreporteratCanaryMedia. 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