California Has Big Clean Energy Ambitions, and Is Looking for Better Energy Storage to Realize Them DEADLINE February 4, 2020

Business News/Analysis, California, Feedstocks, grants, Process, R & D Focus, Sustainability, Vermont, water

January 9, 2020

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by Kavya Balaraman (Utility Dive) The California Energy Commission (CEC) is putting up to $11 million on the table for developers of energy storage technologies other than lithium-ion batteries, according to a solicitation launched last month.
The agency is looking for one group of projects based on emerging customer-side storage technologies and a second to focus only on customer-side electrolytic hydrogen storage. Applications are due by Feb. 4.
The solicitation is largely driven by California’s 100% clean energy statutory requirement and the need for a diverse set of longer-duration storage technologies, Jason Burwen, vice president of policy at the Energy Storage Association, told Utility Dive. But newer storage technologies are likely to face a host of challenges in the market.

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The second group’s sole focus, on the other hand, will be converting electrolytic hydrogen storage technologies from laboratory prototypes to field tests, and proposals will have to indicate the commercial potential of their systems, along with a forecast of prices. Neither group can include fossil fuels in their proposed storage systems.

“A lot of these technologies are like a rearview mirror — objects are closer than they appear. And we’re seeing some of these non-lithium ion technologies already starting to get planned, if not already deployed,” Burwen said. Last month, for instance, Highview Power Storage and Encore Renewable Energy announced plans to build the country’s first long-duration, liquid air storage project in Vermont.

At the same time, non-lithium ion storage technologies are essentially “chasing a moving target,” Burwen added. If lithium-ion costs continue to decline over the next several years, new technologies will have to meet more intensive cost benchmarks. Developers of emerging technologies also need to figure out how to get paid for additional performance, like longer durations.

“And then there’s the third challenge, which is for the investment community to get comfortable, you need a track record — but to get a track record you need to get enough investments and some deployments. So that is always going to be a challenge for any new entrant,” he said.

The CEC is aiming to approve the grants by June 10, with the agreements beginning on June 30 and continuing until the end of 2023. Parties can submit written questions to the agency before Jan. 9. READ MORE

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