Google and energy storage startup Energy Dome have announced a new long-term partnership, alongside a strategic investment by Google, to deploy Energy Dome’s advanced long-term energy storage (LDES) solution globally. This initiative addresses a critical challenge in enabling the use of 24/7 clean energy.
Energy storage is essential for the clean energy transition, given the intermittent nature of renewable sources like wind and solar, and the need to meet continuous energy demand. As grid demand grows from sectors such as transport electrification and AI computing, efficient energy storage is crucial to prevent waste.
Founded in 2019 in Milan, Italy, Energy Dome facilitates renewable energy use by making solar and wind power dispatchable through its CO2 Battery. This technology uses thermodynamic processes to store energy using CO2 at ambient temperature, releasing energy by warming and expanding CO2 to drive a turbine and generate electricity as needed.
The CO2 Battery addresses a major energy storage challenge by allowing continuous energy dispatch for up to 24 hours, compared to the shorter-term capabilities of current technologies like lithium-ion batteries.
Google’s parent company Alphabet announced a [24/7 CFE ambition in 2020](https://www.esgtoday.com/google-achieves-zero-lifetime-net-carbon-footprint-now-aiming-for-100-carbon-free-energy/), aiming to run its entire business on carbon-free energy by 2030. This includes matching electricity demand with carbon-free energy supply every hour, in every region of operation.
This agreement marks Google’s first commercial long-duration energy storage deal and is part of a broader portfolio of technologies to achieve its CFE goal. Claudio Spadacini, Founder and CEO of Energy Dome, stated that the strategic deployment of their technology helps Google attain carbon-free energy, proving that a cost-effective and carbon-free energy supply is achievable with the right technology and partnership.
Under the agreement, Google will support multiple commercial deployments of Energy Dome’s technology in strategic regions, including Europe, America, and Asia-Pacific. A pipeline of sites and projects is already in development. Beyond commercial collaboration, Google invested in Energy Dome.
Google highlighted the potential of LDES technology to commercialise faster than some other clean energy technologies. This partnership aims to scale the technology more swiftly and affordably, enhancing the electricity system’s flexibility and reliability. Maud Texier, Director of EMEA Energy at Google, expressed that Energy Dome’s scalable solution can help Google achieve its clean energy goals, and hopes it will provide communities everywhere with reliable, affordable electricity and support grid resilience as more renewable sources are integrated.