US industrial giant backs iron flow batteries in long duration storage push

American industrial giant Honeywell is investing $US27.5 million in a strategic collaboration to advance the development and market adoption of iron flow battery energy storage systems.

Honeywell announced this week that it will invest in Oregon-based iron flow battery pioneer ESS Tech as part of a larger strategic collaboration that builds on each company’s respective areas of expertise.

As part of the larger strategic collaboration, Honeywell will invest $US27.5 million into ESS Tech as well as purchase $US300 million worth of ESS Tech products, starting with an upfront purchase worth $US15 million.

ESS will in turn receive exclusive license of Honeywell intellectual property related to flow batteries, paving the way for the two companies to collaborate on further technology advancements.

“The demand for long-duration energy storage represents a compelling market opportunity within the energy transition,” said Bryan Glover, chief growth officer of Honeywell Performance Materials and Technology (PMT) group.

ESS Tech was recently recognised by the US government as a leading American technology exporter, due in part to projects planned for Australia and Europe.

In August, the Queensland government announced two utility-scale energy storage projects which will use ESS Tech’s Energy Warehouse systems. These systems will be manufactured by ESS in the United States and supplied by the company’s Australian partner, Energy Storage Industries – Asia Pacific.

Billed as the first of their kind to be deployed in Australia, ESS Tech’s Energy Warehouse systems will help to demonstrate the importance of long duration energy storage in the larger transition to renewable energy.

ESS Tech was also selected in June by German energy provider LEAG to deploy a 50MW/500MWh iron flow battery system as part of a larger clean energy hub.

“Today, we are creating superior technology in the critical long-duration energy storage industry,” said Eric Dresselhuys, CEO of ESS.

“Combining ESS’ innovative technology and deployment experience with Honeywell’s storage and control system expertise will enable us to drive the clean energy transition and deliver value to our customers, shareholders and communities.”