en.Wedoany.com Reported - Viridi has installed its fail-safe battery energy storage system RPS 150 at the distribution grid testbed of the Grid Research, Innovation, and Development Center (GRID-C) at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), serving as a test platform for a resource integration and assessment project.

According to the company's website, the technology is an AI-enhanced aqueous sodium-ion battery energy storage solution with a non-flammable electrolyte, using abundant materials to convert saltwater into safe, pollution-free power, and claims to be 100% green. ORNL will integrate its self-developed converter system with Viridi's batteries to validate this technology.

Prior to this, the ORNL team had tested a grid resource cluster control system for utility needs in an indoor laboratory using simulated energy sources and battery storage. This installation advances the validation work into a real grid environment.

Dr. Madhu Sudhan Chinthavali, ORNL's Electrical Systems Integration Program Manager, stated that the project fills an important gap by identifying real performance challenges through the integration of actual electrical equipment, validating the robustness of the laboratory's new control strategies and AC/DC architecture to support the future grid. The Viridi batteries integrated smoothly with ORNL's management system, and its engineering team provided full support to researchers throughout the testing and integration process.

Grid stress is increasingly prominent in the era of artificial intelligence. The need to modernize aging grids, integrate distributed energy resources, and enhance resilience against disruptions continues to grow, and battery energy storage systems (BESS) have become a critical component of grid infrastructure. In this context, the ability to coordinate storage across multiple grid components is emerging as one of the most important capabilities.

Located in Tennessee, ORNL originated from the Manhattan Project during World War II and spans more than 4,000 acres, making it the largest science and energy research laboratory in the United States, with research areas including supercomputing, clean energy, and materials science.

Viridi CEO Jon M. Williams stated that being selected by ORNL to support this project is a milestone for the company. He believes that a DOE national laboratory choosing its technology for research is a high-level endorsement of the battery system. He also noted that the company built its fail-safe BESS precisely to operate in such environments and looks forward to working with ORNL to advance grid modernization solutions needed by U.S. utilities.

The two organizations stated that this collaboration marks the beginning of a long-term commitment, with other projects planned for the future. Viridi noted that this partnership is a significant step in expanding its safe, reliable battery energy storage to grid modernization research and real-world utility deployments.