Energy Dome has snagged major funding commitments for its first carbon dioxide-based and thermo-mechanical energy storage system.
Securing nearly $38 million in a project-level grant commitment from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst and more than $27 million in venture debt financing from the European Investment Bank, the funding will enable Energy Dome to deploy its long-duration CO2 battery energy storage system.
CO2 batteries are an alternative to lithium batteries, using readily available, off-the-shelf components. According to Energy Dome, the battery works through manipulations of carbon dioxide through its gaseous and liquid phase, by warming up the CO2 where it evaporates and expands, turning a turbine to generate electricity. The process has zero carbon emissions and results in a massive reduction of costs by storing the carbon at ambient temperature in its liquid phase.
The project to be located in Sardinia, Italy, will use a standard frame 20 megawatt and 200 megawatt-hour CO2 battery with the ability to supply energy to the grid for 10 consecutive hours. The storage facility is expected to have a commercial operation date in the third quarter of 2024. Energy Dome said it plans to launch a series of identical units using the same technology design, which will enable cost reductions and “accelerate the bankability of future units” of the CO2 batteries.
The funding announcement was made during COP28.
“As the EU climate bank, the EIB is committed to building public and private partnerships to support the development of disruptive green energy technologies and to enable these to grow to scale in the short-term,” Gelsomina Vigliotti, EIB vice president, said in a statement. “I am delighted to announce the EIB’s intention to support Energy Dome with a EUR 25 million Venture Debt financing. It is an inspiring example of game-changing technology that we need more of in Europe and worldwide. At the same time, the project will promote job creation and economic growth in Sardinia.”
The funding is made available through the EU-Breakthrough Energy Catalyst partnership. Breakthrough Energy Catalyst funds and invests in first-of-a-kind commercial projects for emerging climate technologies, the company said, while the European Investment Bank is backed by InvestEU.
“The EU aligns capital with Catalyst using funds available from Horizon Europe and Innovation Fund through the InvestEU Program with the European Investment Bank, as implementing partner of the European Commission,” the press release stated.
