Top 10: Climate Tech Storage Solutions
Storage solutions for both energy and carbon have the potential to revolutionise industries for net zero emissions.
Energy storage supports grids with the power supply fluctuations that renewable sources, like solar and wind, provide.
Carbon storage is vital in hard-to-abate sectors where it is challenging to eliminate emissions entirely.
These climate tech storage solutions offer significant economic and environmental benefits as the world aims to decarbonise in line with the Paris Agreement.
We’ve ranked 10 of the top climate tech storage solutions.
10. Concrete-based storage
Storage duration: Permanent
Leading companies: CarbonCure, Blue Planet Systems, Concrete4Change
As the second most used material in the world behind water, concrete has the potential to store a lot of carbon.
Some methods used to capture CO₂ in the material include mineral carbonation to form carbonate minerals and CO₂ curing for precast concrete.
David Gottfried, Chief Commercial Officer at Blue Planet, says: “We can do much more in the Scope 3 area to reduce embodied carbon and ramp up efficiencies in older buildings or replacing them while deconstructing their existing carbon into new buildings in a circular way.”
9. Biochar carbon storage
Storage duration: 1,000+ years
Leading companies: Carbo Culture, Carbon Hill, ARTi
Biochar is a charcoal-like material made by heating organic materials in an oxygen-depleted environment.
Carbo Culture aims to decarbonise energy and soil inputs through its rapidly scalable biochar storage solution.
The company raised US$18m of Series A funding led by GenZero.
Henrietta Moon, CEO and Co-Founder at Carbo Culture, says: “To accelerate the green transition, companies like us need partners who understand the global energy transition and carbon markets and are able to support companies in leading the space as they scale.”
8. Ocean carbon storage
Storage duration: 100,000+ years
Leading companies: Ebb Carbon, Brilliant Planet, Captura
The ocean naturally stores carbon and covers 70% of the Earth’s surface.
Ebb Carbon is pioneering a new carbon removal solution using the ocean’s natural ability to store CO₂ with electrochemical ocean alkalinity enhancement.
Founded by ex-employees of Google, Amazon and Tesla, the company aims to remove carbon while restoring the ocean.
Ben Tarbell, Co-Founder and CEO at Ebb Carbon, says: “Removing our first tons of CO₂ today in the right way will speed the way to removing billions of tons of CO₂ in the future.”
7. Forest carbon storage
Storage duration: 200+ years
Leading companies: Pachama, Bio-Logical, Finite Resources
Forests sequester and store carbon in trees and soil through carbon pools and photosynthesis.
Companies including Salesforce, Workday and Shopify use Pachama to see and track carbon-storing projects.
Pachama has helped to conserve more than two million hectares of native forest around the world using its AI and satellite forest tracking.
“The idea that carbon offsetting delays emissions reductions is a fallacy. Either you care for your impact on the planet or you don't,” says Diego Saez Gil, Co-Founder and CEO at Pachama.
6. Soil carbon storage
Storage duration: 70,000+ years
Leading companies: Boomitra, Nestlé, Earth Optics
Carbon can remain stored in soils for millennia through a variety of processes, including chemically bonding to clays and from dead plant matter.
This helps to support a rich population of microorganisms and increase plant growth.
Nestlé is supporting farmers that supply crops for its products to integrate regenerative farming practices for carbon storage and soil health with Cargill.
Antonia Wanner, Group Head of ESG Strategy and Deployment at Nestlé, says: "We are constantly searching for new solutions to help advance regenerative food systems at scale, which includes enhancing livelihoods across our value chain at the same time.”
5. Compressed air energy storage
Storage duration: 4-12 hours
Leading companies: Cheesecake Energy, Acciona, Ingeteam
Compressed air energy storage (CAES) is a way to store energy for later use using compressed air.
Energy generated from periods of low demand can be released when loads increase, supporting grids to be flexible for the fluctuating supply of electricity from renewable sources.
Cheesecake Energy, backed by Shell and Amazon, is a company developing “the world’s greenest battery” using thermal and compressed air energy systems.
Michael Simpson, Founder and Chief Commercial and Product Officer at Cheesecake Energy, says: “It’s great to be working with Amazon to show what our technology could do to accelerate onsite renewables and electric fleets and bring down their carbon emissions.”
4. Thermal energy storage
Storage duration: Hours to months, depending on facilities
Leading companies: Form Energy, Kyoto Group, Sunamp Global
Thermal energy storage can be achieved through a variety of systems including concentrating solar power (CSP) where sunlight is reflected onto a receiver to create heat, ice-slush tanks or water tanks.
Kyoto Group’s Heatcube technology is being used in a partnership with Iberdrola to help decarbonise the energy firm.
“The partnership with Kyoto and its Heatcube thermal storage solution is a further step for Iberdrola in its mission to decarbonise the economy through electrification,” says Fernando Mateo, Global Head of Industrial Decarbonisation at Iberdrola.
“Storage is one of the major challenges in the energy transition, hence this collaboration with the Norwegian group will be key to our strategy.”
3. Pumped hydro energy storage
Storage duration: 10-50 hours
Leading companies: Siemens, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, GE Vernova
Pumped hydroelectric energy storage uses the gravitational potential energy of water pumped from a lower elevation reservoir to higher elevation.
When there is more demand for electricity, stored water is released through turbines to produce power.
This allows energy generated from intermittent renewable sources to be saved for periods of higher demand instead of wasted and helps to avoid damaging grid components with fluctuating supply.
Pumped storage is the largest capacity form of grid energy storage currently available and accounts for around 95% of all active storage installations.
GE Vernova has the largest installed base of hydropower storage units in operations with more than 30% of the world’s hydro storage plants equipped with its technologies.
Frederic Ribieras, CEO at GE Vernova’s Hydro Power Business, explains: “Pumped storage hydro power is essential to stabilise the grid and integrate an ever-growing share of intermittent renewables, storing wind and solar energy when demand is lower and releasing it in a matter of seconds when it’s needed.”
2. Battery energy storage systems (BESS)
Storage duration: 2-12 years depending on battery type
Leading companies: Viridi Parente, Albemarle, Panasonic
Battery energy storage systems, also known as battery storage power stations, are a type of storage technology that use groups of batteries to store energy.
These systems can transition from standby to full power in under a second, making this a practical solution for grid contingencies.
Most BESS can output at their full rated power for a few hours, providing frequency control and operating reserves to minimise power outages.
Any type of battery can be used, but BESS generally contain lithium based or lead-acid based batteries with sodium based batteries proposed as a potentially safer alternative.
Jon Williams, Chairman and CEO at Viridi Parente, says: “As we continue to scale, our focus remains on creating failsafe energy storage solutions that prioritise safety and reliability.
“The transformation of the energy landscape depends on these core principles. Viridi is leading the charge in building a smarter, more resilient grid.”
1. Hydrogen energy storage
Storage duration: Up to a year
Leading companies: Air Liquide, ARIEMA, Shell
Hydrogen energy storage works by using excess electricity from renewable sources, like wind or solar, to power electrolysis that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen.
The hydrogen produced can be stored in tanks, underground caverns, or bound to other materials.
When this energy is needed, the stored hydrogen can be converted back to electricity through fuel cells or hydrogen-powered turbines.
The transport sector is making huge innovations to convert towards hydrogen powered vehicles because it produces no emissions upon being used.
Hydrogen can be stored for long durations and can be used on a huge scale, helping to balance intermittent energy from renewable sources.
This hydrogen can be used across many sectors, and allows for seasonal energy storage.
Air Liquide says hydrogen could represent up to 20% of the global energy mix by 2050.
The company produces hydrogen to serve customers in the world’s main industrial basins and is working to use this fuel to decarbonise for net zero emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.
François Jackow, CEO of Air Liquide, says: “We address challenges with concrete actions that have a clear end goal: to make an impact.
“Achieving superior and sustainable results as a way to provide ourselves with the means to act with impact and in the long run for our people, our customers, our patients and, more widely, for the wellbeing of society.”
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