WEC Energy Group announces project to demonstrate long-duration organic flow battery storage

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Feb 02, 2023, 16:00 ET

MILWAUKEE, Feb. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- WEC Energy Group (NYSE: WEC) today announced that the company will lead a pilot project at its Valley Power Plant in Milwaukee to test a new form of long-duration energy storage.

WEC Energy Group is collaborating with EPRI, an independent, nonprofit energy research and development institute, and CMBlu Energy, the developer and manufacturer of the long-duration battery based in California and Germany.

This 1-to-2-megawatt-hour pilot project will be one of the first to test this type of energy storage system on the U.S. electric grid.

"One of our most important goals is to help shape the future of clean energy — testing technologies that could be true game changers," said Gale Klappa, executive chairman — WEC Energy Group. "On-demand energy storage is clearly a key component to an energy transition that is affordable, reliable and clean."

"The results of the pilot will provide key insights on how this innovation can be applied around the country," said Neva Espinzoa, EPRI vice president — energy supply and low-carbon resources. "We look forward to collaborating with WEC Energy Group and CMBlu Energy to help provide solutions to enable additional resilience through the energy transition."

The CMBlu Organic SolidFlow energy storage system uses a proprietary flow battery technology with components from abundant, recyclable materials. These batteries are expected to provide safe and reliable operation, with a high energy density that will enable compact solutions for a variety of applications for electric utilities.

The project will test the performance of the battery system, including discharge durations of five to 10 hours — up to twice as long as the typical lithium-ion batteries in use today.

The pilot project is planned for testing in the fourth quarter of this year.

"CMBlu Energy appreciates WEC Energy Group's commitment to guide the future of long duration energy storage for its customers and the electric power industry," said Ben Kaun, president — CMBlu Energy Inc. "This demonstration supports our roadmap of tailored products and manufacturing of Organic SolidFlow batteries in the United States."

Findings will be shared with the utility industry. EPRI will share a complete analysis of the project in early 2024.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE: WEC), based in Milwaukee, is one of the nation's premier energy companies, serving 4.6 million customers in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota.

The company's principal utilities are We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service, Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas, Michigan Gas Utilities, Minnesota Energy Resources and Upper Michigan Energy Resources. Another major subsidiary, We Power, designs, builds and owns electric generating plants. In addition, WEC Infrastructure LLC owns a growing fleet of renewable generation facilities in the Midwest.

WEC Energy Group (wecenergygroup.com) is a Fortune 500 company and a component of the S&P 500. The company has approximately 37,000 stockholders of record, 7,000 employees and $41 billion of assets.

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SOURCE WEC Energy Group