Energy Vault Inc. has signed an agreement to provide its proprietary energy storage technology to DG Fuels, a manufacturer of renewable aviation fuel and diesel fuel.
The Westlake Village company will provide 1.6 gigawatts of energy storage to support DG Fuels across multiple projects. The first project will be in Louisiana and be for 500 megawatt hours of storage. That project is expected to begin construction in the middle of next year.
The initial project will be followed by two others in Ohio and British Columbia, according to a release from Energy Vault.
The Energy Vault system is made up of blocks in a modular building that are used to store excess solar and wind energy. Using the excess energy, the blocks are raised to the full height of the building and then gently lowered at 2 meters per second, or about 4 to 5 miles per hour. The lowered blocks spin a turbine that creates the energy that is put back on the electrical grid.
The systems are automated with advanced computer control and machine vision software that orchestrate the charging and discharging cycles while meeting a broad set of storage durations starting from two hours and continuing to 12 hours or more, Energy Vault said in its release.
DG Fuels will deploy Energy Vault’s gravity storage systems to provide green electricity in conjunction with photovoltaic solar to match the demand load of the green hydrogen production. The renewable power will be used to power water electrolysis for both hydrogen and oxygen feedstock production, the company added in the release.
Robert Piconi, chief executive of Energy Vault, said the company was proud to collaborate with DG Fuels to execute its plans to deliver green fuel to the aviation industry.
“Our energy storage systems are designed to maximize the use of local materials and stimulate local job creation, thus amplifying the sustainability benefits of DG Fuels’ deployment plans,” Piconi said in a statement.
Currently privately owned, Energy Vault announced in early September a merger with Novus Capital Corp. II to become publicly traded and be listed on the New York Stock Exchange starting in the first quarter of next year.