Quidnet Energy, a long-duration energy storage solutions provider, has been awarded a USD 10 million grant by the US Department of Energy (DOE) as part of the Seeding Critical Advances for Leading Energy technologies with Untapped Potential (SCALEUP) program led by DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).

Quidnet Energy will use this funding to scale its Geomechanical Pumped Storage (GPS) to a commercial system at CPS Energy, the largest US municipal utility. 

GPS uses the earth as a mechanical battery by storing energy as pressurized water between layers of rock. This aims to reduce costs relating to long-duration energy storage by 50–75%.

Analyst QuickTake: A total of eight companies developing clean energy projects were chosen by the SCALEUP program to receive funding totaling USD 100 million. These projects support President Biden’s goals to reduce the country’s greenhouse gasses by 50% by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions by 2050 by lowering emissions through clean energy deployment, reducing dependence on imports of critical minerals, and supporting research and innovation.