Quidnet Energy (Quidnet) aims to overcome the inefficiencies in conventional pumped hydro-electric storage to provide long-duration energy storage solutions for utilities and renewable energy developers. Quidnet aims to provide 10+ hours of utility-scale energy storage versus the average long-duration utility-scale energy storage capacity of four to six hours.
Quidnet’s proprietary geo-mechanical pumped storage system uses conventional drilling technology to convert subsurface rock layers into energy storage reservoirs. When electricity is in abundance, it is used to pump water from the surface level to the subsurface rock layers, where water is stored at high pressure. Pressurized water from the subsurface level is then allowed to pass through a turbine to generate electricity. Quidnet’s solution operates in a closed-loop system, to prevent the evaporative loss and allow for water to be reused for prolonged periods.
Quidnet’s technology is highly modularized and is available in 1-10 megawatt modules for custom deployment. This overcomes inefficiencies in the conventional pumped hydro-electric storage technology such as land use considerations and the need for heavy infrastructure such as reservoirs and dams.
Key customers and partnerships
As of March 2024, Quidnet Energy had four energy storage projects under development in Texas, New York, Ohio, and Alberta (Canada).
In March 2022, Quidnet entered into a 15-year agreement with CPS Energy, a public utility service provider, to build a long-duration energy storage project in Texas.
Funding and financials
In November 2022, Quidnet was awarded a USD 10 million grant by the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) through its SCALEUP program. Quidnet will be using this funding to scale its Geomechanical Pumped Storage (GPS) to a commercial system at CPS Energy, the largest US municipal utility. In June 2020, Quidnet raised USD 10 million in a Series B funding round led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Evok Innovations.
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