Hydrostor secures $250 million from Goldman Sachs amid ...

Goldman Sachs on Monday announced a $250 million investment in long-duration energy storage provider Hydrostor, the latest in a line of ... Skiptomaincontent CONTINUETOSITE➞ Search Generation T&D GridReliability Electrification LoadManagement Renewables Storage DER Regs CorpNews Anarticlefrom DiveBrief Hydrostorsecures$250millionfromGoldmanSachsamidrisinginvestorinterestinlong-durationstorage PublishedJan.12,2022 By JasonPlautz Contributor AdelineKon/UtilityDive DiveBrief: GoldmanSachsonMondayannounceda$250millioninvestmentinlong-durationenergystorageproviderHydrostor,thelatestinalineofinvestmentsintheemerginglong-durationstoragemarket.  Toronto-basedHydrostorusesanoveladvancedcompressedairenergystorage(A-CAES)technologythatcanstoreenergyinlargeundergroundcaverns,includingthoseleftfromhardrockmining.ThecompanyhasademonstrationprojectonOntario'swholesalepowermarketandhasprojectsplannedinCaliforniaandAustralia. HydrostorCEOCurtisVanWalleghemsaidtheinvestmentwillhelpthecompanyatleastdoubleitsstaffwhileitmovesaheadwithitslarge-scaleprojectsandseeksnewpartners."Wehaveshownthatourtechnologyisbankable,"VanWalleghemsaid."Thiswillsupportus,accelerateourgrowthandlendcredibilitytoourtechnologysolution." DiveInsight: Asrenewablesincreasinglycontributeagreatershareofelectricityproduction,expertsagreethatmorelong-durationstoragewillbenecessarytoweathertheday-to-dayandseasonalvariabilityinwindandsolargeneration.Whilelithium-ionbatteriesarethedominantstoragesourcetoday,thebatteriesarelimitedintheirstoragecapability,creatinganeedforstorageofatleasteighthours.  DanFinn-Foley,aprincipalconsultantwithPAConsultingfocusedonenergystorage,saidlong-durationstoragehasbeenthe"nexttechnologyup"foralongtimeasthemarketfocusedonlithium-ionbatteries.However,hesaid,theBidenadministration'sgoalofachieving100%carbon-freeelectricityby2035andsimilargoalsonthestatelevelshowthatthereisanemergingmarketforutility-scaleandothertypesofstorage.  "Theseareasmuchbetsonpolicyastheyareontechnology,"Finn-Foleysaid."Long-durationstorageisasolutiontoaproblemthatdoesn'texistyet.Itrequiresthe100%greenorcleanelectricitygoalsthatpolicymakersarepushingtobecomeanecessity.It'sinterestingtoseetheseinstitutionalinvestorsmakingbetsthatpolicymakersaregoingtofollowthrough." Californiahasagoalofdeployingnearly1GWoflong-durationstorageby2026andthestate'sfiscalyear2022-2023budgetincludes$380millionforlong-durationstorageprojects.TheDepartmentofEnergyisworkingonaprogramtolowerthecostoflong-durationstoragetechnologyby90%overthenextdecadeandacoalitionofcompaniesincludingSiemensEnergy,ESSandbpisbuildingpolicysupportforthetechnology.  Inastatement,CharlieGailliot,partnerandheadofenergytransitionprivateequityinvestingforGoldmanSachsAssetManagement,saidtheworld'stransitiontorenewableenergyhascreatedan"emergingglobalmarket"forlong-durationstorageandthatHydrostor"willplayacentralroleintheongoingenergytransition." WhilethebasicideabehindHydrostor'stechnology–usingenergytocompressairintunnelsandrelyingonwatertomaintainpressure–iswell-established,VanWalleghemsaidthecompanyhasmodifiedittoreducewastedheatandallowittoworkoutsideofsaltcaverns,wheremostcompressedairfacilitiesare.Theabilitytoworkinanyhardrockcavern,hesaid,allowsHydrostortobemoresite-specificandcreateutility-scalestorageinthemostappealinglocationsforpartners.Hydrostorhastwolate-stageprojectsinCaliforniaandathirdinAustraliathattotal1.1GW/8.7GWh.   "Ourabilitytogowherethestorageisneededisreallyappealing.Batteriescandothat,butwithourcostprofileandlongevity,wehaveahugecostadvantage,"VanWalleghemsaid."Probablyourbiggestlimitationisthatwecanonlygososmall,butwiththeneedforsomanytypesofstorage,weknowthereisamarketforourtechnology." TheGoldmanSachsinvestmentcomesamidaflurryofinvestorinterestinthelong-durationstoragemarket.Gravity-basedstoragefirmEnergyVaultwentpublicinthefallthroughaSPACafterraisingmorethan$100millioninaSeriesCfundraisinground.Iron-airbatteryfirmFormEnergyannounceda$200millionfundraisinground,andlong-durationfirmFlexGenreceiveda$150millionequitycommitmentfromApolloGlobalManagementin2021.  PAConsulting'sFinn-Foleysaidthatwithavarietyoftechnologiesavailableforenergystorage,itwilltaketimetoseehowthemarketdevelopsandwhichtechnologiesalignwiththepolicyincentivesanddemands.Hydrostor'sdevelopmentofprojectsinCaliforniashowsitistryingtoplaytothatmarket'sneedformorestoragethanlithium-ionbatteriescanprovide,butitcouldstillfaceacrowdedplayingfield,Finn-Foleysaid.  "It'scriticalforthesetechnologiestofindthat'Goldilocksduration'wheretheirspecificadvantagesgivethemalegup,"hesaid."Thatmeanstheremaynotbejustonewinnerinthelong-durationstoragemarket,itcouldbeavarietyofcompaniesthatarealloptimizedattheirbestduration.There'sanopportunityforalotofplayers." RecommendedReading Long-durationenergystorageshouldscaleup400xby2040,bp,SiemensandESS-backedgroupsays By JasonPlautz • Nov.23,2021 post share tweet print email FiledUnder: EnergyStorage, CorporateNews UtilityDivenewsdeliveredtoyourinbox Getthefreedailynewsletterreadbyindustryexperts Email: SelectNewsletter: DailyDive Topicscovered:smartgridtech,cleanenergy,regulation,generation,andmuchmore. M-F viewsample SelectNewsletter: StorageWeekly EveryTuesday viewsample SelectNewsletter: LoadManagementWeekly EveryWednesday viewsample SelectNewsletter: RenewableEnergyWeekly EveryThursday viewsample Selectuserconsent: Bysigninguptoreceiveournewsletter,youagreetoour TermsofUseand PrivacyPolicy.Youcanunsubscribeatanytime. Signup Avalidemailaddressisrequired. Pleaseselectatleastonenewsletter. 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