US firm Form Energy has secured $405m (£310m) from investors to progress its battery technology that is longer lasting than lithium-ion.
Most modern tech, including smartphones, electric vehicles (EVs) and grid-scale storage, uses lithium-ion batteries. But the technology is prone to degrading over time, particularly if frequently charged and discharged in full cycles. Manufacturing them also requires rare and expensive materials such as lithium and cobalt, leading to environmental concerns around mining and disposal.
Instead, Form uses an iron-air battery system that is effectively based on a reversible rusting process capable of discharging energy for around 100 continuous hours. While they are too heavy to be used in consumer gadgets or EVs, they are ideal for use in grid-scale storage where weight isn’t a major concern, but longevity is.
Form Energy CEO Mateo Jaramillo said: “Form is at an exciting juncture as we gear up to fulfil our mission of deploying multi-day energy storage solutions that will enable a more reliable, clean and resilient electric grid.
“After seven years of dedicated R&D, product engineering, testing and validation, and most recently trial production, our 100-hour iron-air battery system is ready for serial production and commercial deployment. We are excited to continue proving that American manufacturing for innovative energy technology is alive and well, right here in the industrial heartland of West Virginia and the Ohio River Valley.”
The firm’s latest funding round includes major institutional investors such as GE Vernova, and MIT’s Engine Ventures alongside a broad range of energy firms.
In theory, a broad roll-out of grid-scale storage solutions will allow renewables like solar and wind to entirely power the grid without the need for baseload generators that are typically powered by natural gas or coal.
Jessica Uhl, president of GE Vernova, described Form’s battery technology as a “game changer”.
“To meet the urgent demands to modernise the grid and enable higher renewable energy generation, it’s essential to speed up the roll-out of affordable technologies that can decarbonise the power grid while ensuring it remains secure, reliable and resilient,” she said.
In March, the right-wing think tank Policy Exchange claimed that Labour’s plans to decarbonise the UK’s energy grid by 2030 were “infeasible in the timeframe”.
