Quidnet Energy has achieved two milestones in its projects with the US Department of Energy’s Water Power Technology Office (WPTO) and Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E), to commercialise the company’s Geomechanical Pumped Storage (GPS) technology.
Quidnet pumps water underground and stores it between layers of rock. The natural elasticity of the rock acts like a spring and holds the water under pressure until it is needed, at which time it is released through a hydroelectric turbine to produce electricity which is sent to the grid.
The company partnered with the WPTO through its HydroWIRES Initiative to develop a reversible injector-generator that will enable deployment of modular hydropower conversion in high-pressure pumped hydro applications such as for Quidnet’sGPS technology. The milestone was achieved by the completion of system-level design and engineering as well as testing of key operating components in an industrial machining facility in New York State.
Quidnet is working with ARPA-E through their Duration Addition to electricitY Storage (DAYS) program to develop the GPS resource in key power markets across the US by planning and executing exploratory wells to characterise, evaluate, and validate this geologic resource. This milestone is marked by the completion of project development of the exploration well sites – including sites that reuse inactive O&G wells – and achieving resource performance targets during exploration well hydraulic testing. Analogous work was performed by DOE in the early 2000s to similarly characterize North American wind resources.
Quidnet CEO, Joe Zhou said: “WPTO and ARPA-E have been vital partners in the development of our long duration energy storage technology. These leading energy technology organizations have brought valuable resources and oversight to the development process, helping steward our technology toward commercialization. Their experience, guidance and partnership are very much appreciated.”
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