Energy Dome is an energy storage company that takes a unique approach to harvesting electrons and saving them for use later. Today, the most widely used methods of storing energy are lithium-ion batteries and pumped hydro systems. Energy Dome stores energy by means of a closed thermodynamic cycle that uses carbon dioxide as a working fluid. The system compresses, liquifies, and stores the carbon dioxide during charging and evaporates and expands it during discharging.

The system works in a closed loop with no emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Energy Dome says it has created a technology that takes a problem — too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leading to an overheating planet — and turns it into a solution. Using carbon dioxide to reduce carbon emissions? That’s some smart thinking. In fact, it’s brilliant!

The Energy Dome system is perfectly suited for daily cycling applications — the ones that are most needed to quickly change the way we produce our energy and decarbonize the electrical grid. In an email to CleanTechnica, the company says that because it uses just two primary components — carbon dioxide and stainless steel — its energy storage technology has the the lowest possible impact on the environment compared to other energy storage systems.

“We have the cheapest and most efficient energy storage system and it is ready for the market as we proved it already,” the company says. “All components are available from a globally established and reliable supply chain and there are no bottlenecks to its scalability. The CO2 Battery is a global product that can be sourced from local supply chains with no dependency on foreign imports. It can be deployed anywhere with no limitations.”

Energy Dome Raises €40 Million In Series B Funding

Today, Energy Dome has announced it has successfully completed a €40 million Series B funding round led by EIN Next and Neva SGR. New investors include the Japan Energy Fund and Elemental Excelerator — a US based climate tech accelerator backed by Emerson Collective and the US Navy. They now join existing investors Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital, CDP Venture Capital, 360 Capital, and Novum Capital Partners

Asked about the need to increase investments at this time, Energy Dome founder Claudio Spadacini said, “We don’t do it just for money. We do it because this is our world too. This world also belongs to our children and we can’t wait any longer or it will be destroyed. And, humbly speaking, there’s only one way to start saving the world immediately — our cheaper, faster, better energy storage solution that’s ready to go right now. Our world can’t wait.

“Our CO2 Battery is durable. It is the lowest investment per kWh installed and it lasts for 30 years or more. The cost of our standard 20MW/200MWh energy storage system is €45 million. Compare that to a lithium ion battery which for the same amount of energy would cost €70 million to €80 million and last only 10 years.”

The new funds will be used to scale up production and promote growth of the Energy Dome system, especially in the US market, where incentives for standalone energy storage are now available for the the first time as part of America’s latest plan to promote renewable energy. The company will focus on independent power producers and utility customers who are looking for reliable and cost effective solutions today in response to the opportunities opened up by the Inflation Reduction Act.

CleanTechnica readers will note that the Energy Dome system can supply power for up to 10 hours. Most battery storage systems are limited to 2 to 4 hours. That larger operating window can make renewable energy truly dispatchable — meaning it can reliably substitute for the coal- and methane-powered thermal generating plants that spew the most carbon dioxide pollution into the atmosphere.

This latest funding round will make it possible for Energy Dome to enter full commercial scaling mode on a global basis and capitalize on its pipeline of 9 GWh of pending installations with blue chip customers in the US, Europe, Latin America, Australia, Japan, India, and the Middle East.

The company says it is the first to go to market with an “affordable, viable way to store renewable energy to start decarbonizing the world today. What everyone else promises, we deliver. And the best part? We can guarantee that it works. We’re more sustainable, effective and efficient than the old school lithium batteries and we’re ready today. We are not just a new technology but a real off the shelf ‘plug and play’ product.”

Energy Dome offers longer storage duration at half the cost per kWh and three times the lifetime, together with sustainable materials like steel and carbon dioxide, and no degradation. Its system is able to be deployed everywhere and the company has a global supply chain in place that allows for an infinite scalability.

The key factor for Energy Dome is that its systems are ready today. “When we say we can get started today, we mean today,” the company says. “Our plant in Sardinia is proof that it works and it’s ready to be deployed all over the world. We built it in two years from starting the company and it can be replicated and scaled up.” Its first two 20 MW/200 MWh systems are expected to be fully operational by the end of 2024 and it expects to have positive cash flow by then.

With the Series B funding round complete, the company plans to increase its workforce and expand its business opportunities worldwide. The allure of dispatchable long-term energy storage at half the cost of conventional battery energy storage systems will appeal to anyone in the market for energy storage systems. The fact that the life expectancy of an Energy Dome installation is more than triple that of a conventional BESS system only adds to the economic superiority of this technology.

Last fall, the company announced a partnership with Ørsted that will see one or more Energy Dome storage systems installed for the Danish wind energy company. Just last week, 9 European nations agreed to a plan to make offshore wind farms in the North Sea into a renewable energy powerhouse, a project that Ørsted will be directly involved in. There is a strong possibility that Energy Dome energy storage systems will be included as well, especially when developers do the math and realize how inexpensive those systems are compared to the alternatives.

The Takeaway

There is something deliciously appealing about using carbon dioxide — the bane of modern civilization — to tame carbon emissions from the energy sector. We don’t often get emotional about clean tech stories we come across, but the image Energy Dome has created to represent the company and its purpose is so perfect, we just had to feature it. It says everything that needs to be said about why the transition to zero-emissions energy is so vitally important to us all.

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• Source: https://cleantechnica.com/2023/04/27/energy-dome-completes-new-funding-round/