Houston startup Quidnet Energy will deploy its pumped energy storage technology to develop a multigigawatt storage resource.
Quidnet Energy will work with emissions management corporation Emissions Reduction Alberta to develop the energy storage resource in Alberta, Canada, with funding from the government of Alberta, the firms announced June 17.
The $5 million in funding came from Emissions Reduction Alberta, or ERA, which uses revenues from the Canadian carbon price paid by large final emitters to invest in clean technologies. The project will be developed at Quidnet's geologic test site in Brooks, Alberta.
"Renewable power resources, such as solar projects, work best when their output can be stored until the grid needs it. Quidnet Energy's modular pumped storage technology provides the long-duration energy storage that can make widespread use of renewable resources reliable and effective," said Joe Zhou, CEO at Quidnet Energy.
Quidnet uses conventional drilling and construction technologies to pump water under pressure into subsurface reservoirs to store energy, as opposed to storing in above-ground systems. A Quidnet project uses only a few acres of land to house a holding pond, a wellhead site, and pumping and generation equipment. When other forms of renewable energy are not available, the stored water is pumped out to drive hydroelectric turbines and power the electric grid. The company says its technology can lead to lower-cost, long-duration energy storage.
In addition to the Alberta project, Quidnet is developing energy storage projects in Texas, Ohio and New York. Last summer, Quidnet announced a contract with the New York State Energy Development Authority to develop a 2-megawatt scale implementation of its pumped storage technology. Following the completion of the Alberta project, Quidnet will look to deploy more geomechanical pumped storage facilities across Alberta's power grid, including near wind and solar power facilities, the company said.
Last June, Quidnet announced raising a $10 million Series B funding round. The round saw participation from existing investors Evok Innovations and Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the venture arm of Bill Gates's Breakthrough Energy. Quidnet had raised a $6.4 million Series A in 2018.
Quidnet has offices in Houston, San Francisco and Saratoga Springs, New York.
