Form Energy to build 30 GWh iron-air battery plant to power Google data center in Minnesota
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Summary
Form Energy, a battery startup, has struck a deal with Xcel Energy to build a massive 30 gigawatt-hour (GWh) iron-air battery plant in Minnesota. The facility will provide round-the-clock clean energy to power a Google data center. Unlike lithium-ion batteries, Form Energy's iron-air batteries can discharge electricity for up to 100 hours, making them ideal for long-duration energy storage. The project represents a major step in decarbonizing data centers, which have massive and growing energy demands due to AI and cloud computing. Google has committed to 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030 and sees this as a key part of that strategy.
Key quotes
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"We need to be able to run our data centers on clean energy every hour of every day," said a Google spokesperson. "This partnership with Form Energy and Xcel Energy helps us get closer to that goal."
"Iron-air batteries are fundamentally different from lithium-ion," Jaramillo explained. "They're not as energy-dense, but they can store energy for much longer periods at a fraction of the cost."
"This project demonstrates that long-duration energy storage is not just theoretical — it's commercially viable and scalable," said an energy analyst quoted in the article.
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