en.Wedoany.com Reported - Energy storage startup Ore Energy has reached an agreement with Dutch utility Budget Thuis to deploy up to 1000 MWh of multi-day duration iron-air battery systems.
The Amsterdam-based technology company announced that Budget Thuis has committed to an initial 400 MWh delivery in 2028. Ore Energy's battery technology is based on iron, water, and air, with discharge durations configurable from 24 to 100 hours, packaged in 40-foot containers with megawatt-hour-scale unit capacity. The company states that the technology is suitable for utilities to store wind energy, enabling electricity to be stored for multiple days and dispatched when needed.
Ore Energy CEO Aytaç Yilmaz said that renewable energy in Europe has already been curtailed during periods of surplus, with grids relying on fossil fuels to fill the gap. He believes that short-duration batteries alone cannot solve the problem, and that European grids dominated by wind energy require energy storage systems capable of operating across multiple days. Budget Thuis CEO Annemarie Buitelaar noted that iron-air technology allows utilities to store clean electricity when power is abundant and deliver it when it is most valuable; the technology is specifically designed for long-duration use cases that traditional batteries cannot cover, with a cost structure suitable for multi-day storage, helping to reduce exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices while providing customers with cleaner, more predictable electricity.
European utility association Eurelectric recently released an analysis by consulting firm AFRY, showing that non-lithium long-duration energy storage (LDES) technologies are increasingly viable as grid flexibility options in Europe, including reducing curtailment of variable renewable energy (VRE).
According to Energy-Storage.news, Ore Energy is one of two known startups globally commercializing iron-air batteries, the other being U.S. company Form Energy. The two companies' technical indicators and specifications are relatively close: both have a theoretical energy density of 1200 Wh/kg, design discharge times of up to 100 hours, and system lifespans planned at approximately 20 years. Form Energy claims costs of $15-20 per kWh, while Ore Energy's cost is €16 per kWh (approximately $18.50). In terms of commercialization progress, Form Energy is ahead, having first disclosed technical details in 2021, while Ore Energy was founded in 2022. Form Energy recently signed a 30 GWh utility agreement with a Google data center campus in Minnesota and a 12 GWh agreement with data center builder Crusoe, with its first overseas project planned in Ireland. Ore Energy, meanwhile, completed a grid-connected 100-hour long-duration energy storage pilot project in France with EDF at EDF Lab les Renardières, its second pilot after the Netherlands project. The company stated at the time that it was exploring the construction of manufacturing facilities in Germany or its home country.
Ore Energy CEO Yilmaz emphasized that this non-lithium, cobalt-free technology can be manufactured using a supply chain controlled by Europe. He believes that iron-air's significance for wind energy will be similar to that of lithium-ion for solar power.
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