Ansaldo Energia, Energy Dome in energy storage deal

Ansaldo Energia announced that it has signed a license agreement with Energy Dome that will allow Ansaldo to use Energy Dome’s energy storage technology that is based on the compression and expansion of carbon dioxide (CO2). The deal was signed by Giuseppe Marino, CEO of Ansaldo Energia, Daniela Gentile, CEO of Ansaldo GreenTech and Claudio Spadacini, CEO and founder of Energy Dome.

Giuseppe Marino, CEO of Ansaldo Energia (left), Daniela Gentile, CEO of Ansaldo GreenTech and Claudio Spadacini, CEO and Founder of Energy Dome, signed the license agreement allowing Ansaldo Energia to use the energy storage technology owned by Energy Dome. (Photo: Ansaldo Energia)

The agreement follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed last year and the due diligence carried out by Ansaldo Energia on the Energy Dome technology, which confirmed the TRL (Technology Readiness Level), performance and costs as well as its potential in the energy storage market.

This is the first license agreement between Energy Dome and an EPC/OEM. It will allow Ansaldo Energia to commercialize the CO2 Battery in core power generation markets where the company has a historic commercial presence. The agreement also foresees the marketing license of Energy Transition Combined Cycle (ETCC) technology in combination with gas turbines.

The two companies intend to start construction of the first Energy Transition Combines Cycle (ETCC) and CO2 Battery commercial plants by the beginning of 2023. Ansaldo Energia will provide the turnkey EPC, including performance guarantees, based on the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) developed by Energy Dome.

Energy Dome’s energy storage technology incorporates a charging mode, in which CO2 is taken from an atmospheric gasholder (the Dome), compressed and then stored under pressure and at ambient temperature in a liquid state. When energy needs to be released, the CO2 is evaporated and expanded in a turbine, then returned to the Dome, ready for the next charging cycle, without the process having any emissions into the atmosphere. (Photo: Energy Dome)

The storage system owned by Energy Dome is based on a thermodynamic cycle which, by manipulating CO2 between its gaseous and liquid phases, is designed to allow an efficient and economical energy storage based on components already available on the market. The process includes a charging mode, in which CO2 is taken from an atmospheric gasholder (the Dome), compressed and then stored under pressure and at ambient temperature in a liquid state. When energy needs to be released, the CO2 is evaporated and expanded in a turbine, then returned to the atmospheric gasholder, ready for the next charging cycle, without the process having any emissions into the atmosphere.

“The diversification of sources and the ability to store energy are crucial issues for the energy strategies of the next few years and will be a strong point of Ansaldo GreenTech’s offer,” said Marino. “Ansaldo Energia and Ansaldo GreenTech will offer solutions capable of providing concrete answers to the energy transition challenges. We considered Energy Dome’s development capacity to be highly innovative and we are pleased to have signed this agreement today.”

“Our agreement with Ansaldo Energia marks a significant new milestone for Energy Dome, as it represents our first licensing agreement and lays the foundation for the rapid expansion of our company globally,” Spadacini said. “We have the ambition and the awareness of being able to provide the answer that the world desperately needs, that is, a concrete and reliable long-lasting energy storage technology, capable of decarbonizing the energy industry.”