CMBlu Energy AG, the German-based long-duration energy storage (LDES) developer, and Rubicon Professional Services (RPS), the Georgia-based project consultancy group, have made an agreement, employing the latter as a project partner for the design and engineering of the Desert Blume project.
Desert Blume is a 5-megawatt (MW), 10-hour-duration BESS with enough energy to power about 1,125 average homes for 10 hours, in collaboration with Salt River Project (SRP), a public power utility in Florence, Arizona. Desert Blume is the largest organic, non-lithium energy storage project under active development in the United States. This will be positioning SRP as the first U.S. electric utility to deploy CMBlu’s energy storage solution at this scale.
The organic SolidFlow battery technology applied by CMBlu Energy combines a non-flammable, proprietary carbon-based solid energy storage material with water-based electrolytes. The company claims that the technology delivers up to 5–10 times the energy density of conventional flow batteries.
Made from earth-abundant, readily available and recyclable materials, the Organic SolidFlow battery is said to reduce reliance on rare metals and minimise supply chain risks. CMBlu expects its battery system to cost-effectively store and deliver energy for two to three times longer per cycle than traditional lithium-ion batteries.
“With such an innovative design for the CMBlu Organic SolidFlow battery energy storage system, we needed a project partner that could work hand in hand with us to build the next generation of energy storage. We couldn’t be prouder to welcome RPS as our partner in this great endeavour,” said Giovanni Damato, President of CMBlu Energy, Inc.
Abbot Moffat, Director of Business Development with Rubicon Professional Services said that “RPS has focused on critical infrastructure and BESS projects for years, so the development of non-lithium-ion long-duration storage solutions is something we’ve wanted to actively facilitate.”
