Oil giant Equinor leads €30m investment in long duration flow battery storage company

The corporate venture capital arm of Norwegian energy giant Equinor has led a €30 million investment into Dutch large-scale flow battery storage company Elestor, which has its eyes on the Australian market.

Equinor Ventures led a consortium of new and old investors who committed €30 million to support an ultra-rapid growth strategy, which Elestor claims will accelerate the commercialisation of its hydrogen bromine flow battery technology.

The company is said to be discussing some long duration battery projects in Australia, although negotiations have not been completed and the details have not been revealed.

Founded in 2014, Elestor has developed flow batteries that rely on low cost and abundant active materials, in this case hydrogen and bromine, which are both available at virtually unlimited quantities.

Elestor’s flow batteries are based on a triple cost reduction strategy which includes the low cost and abundant active materials, a compact cell that is easily manufactured, and a patented simplified system design, all of which result in the lowest possible cost for storing electricity.

Additionally, the battery generates hydrogen during the charging process, a concept which introduces several additional integration options with hydrogen infrastructures and electrolysers.

This secondary aspect of Elestor’s flow batteries, in their own words, “bridges the two worlds of energy storage: with batteries and in the form of hydrogen.”

“The investment proves that we have earned the trust and support of this diverse group of highly respected investors,” said Guido Dalessi, CEO of Elestor.

“We are ready to deliver exactly the kind of renewable electricity storage solutions the world is crying out for right now: Long Duration Energy Storage, or LDES.”

“Technologies providing long-term energy storage at scale will play an important role in satisfying the growing need to stabilise power markets,” said Gareth Burns, head of Equinor Ventures. “We look forward to working together with Elestor.”