Honeywell and ESS Tech said Sept. 25 they are collaborating on developing iron flow battery energy storage systems and working to advance market adoption of the technology.
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ESS manufactures all its iron flow battery systems and components in Wilsonville, Oregon, a spokesperson said in an email.
The rapid increase in renewable power generation is creating global demand for long-duration energy storage, the companies said.
As countries transition to zero carbon energy systems, the energy storage market is currently estimated to be $50 billion per year and forecast to increase significantly with a cumulative investment of up to $3 trillion by 2040, according to the non-profit Long Duration Energy Storage Council and consultant McKinsey & Co.
Installed capacity growth
Additionally, long duration energy storage capacity is expected to increase from about 1 TWh in 2025 to between 85 TWh and 140 TWh by 2040, according to a presentation released in conjunction with the news statement.
Power modeling has shown a growing need for energy storage system capacity, both in terms of power and duration, "with duration being a particularly important dimension as the share of renewable penetration in generating capacity increases," the energy storage council said in a 2021 report.
The US Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy division has shown that the need for long duration energy storage increases greatly when renewables reach 60% to 70% of power capacity and the global need for LDES by 2040 was estimated at 1.5 TW to 2.5 TW of power capacity and 85 TWh to 140 TWh of energy capacity.
In total there is 16 GWh of deployment targeted in the US by 2035 including goals, targets, and mandates, though it is unlikely all of that capacity will be built, S&P Global Commodity Insights power market analysts said in their most recent US Power Storage Outlook.
Regarding the investment details, Honeywell has purchased 16.5 million shares for $27.5 million at $1.67/share, according to the presentation.
Honeywell received a warrant to purchase an additional 10.6 million shares for $20 million at $1.89/ share, and ESS has received a $15 million pre-payment for Honeywell product purchases.
"Safe and sustainable IFB technology enables the transition to clean energy using Earth-abundant materials – iron, salt and water – to provide energy storage without reliance upon limited minerals such as lithium, cobalt or vanadium," the companies said.