Energy Dome

  • The project
  • The start-up’s achievements
  • A look at the well-being of the Planet

The project

The first CO₂ batteries in Italy for the long-duration storage of energy from renewable sources

With our Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) initiative, we set ourselves the goal of seeking out innovative technologies in the spheres of the energy transition and the circular economy in order to support and speed up the ecosystem of innovation. In 2017, we rolled out a virtuous process for the generation and management of innovation that has seen the participation of start-ups, research centres, innovation hubs and venture capital funds.

One of these start-ups is Energy Dome (https://energydome.com/). Founded in 2019, it is an Italian company operating in the long-duration large-scale electricity storage sector. Its technology makes it possible to store large amounts of energy, in the order of hundreds of MWh, and is designed to be deployed alongside wind and solar energy facilities or systems for the production of green hydrogen. It does so by using the CO₂ battery, a storage system that uses carbon dioxide as a working fluid.

With this battery, when there is a surplus of generation, it is possible to store solar and wind energy for periods of four to 24 hours, and then release it when the energy requirement intensifies and/or when the production from renewables decreases. In this way, the renewable energy supply can be assured 24 hours a day.

Unlike thermochemical systems, like that of lithium batteries, in the charging stage, Energy Dome uses machinery able to compress the CO2 to 65 atmospheres so as to transform it into the liquid state and enable the energy spent to be stored efficiently. Then, in the discharge stage, the CO2 is regasified, expanded in a turbine to return to the grid the power absorbed from the grid itself and then sent to a gas storage tank, the so-called ‘dome’. In this way, the production of electricity can go on throughout the day despite the limits of solar and wind plants, where production depends on the presence of a natural source which is intermittent. 

The start-up’s achievements

The first Italian company among BNEF Pioneers 2022

In April 2022, Energy Dome was announced among the winners of the Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) Pioneers 2022 technology competition, which identifies the most original innovations with the greatest impact on progress in the low-emission economy. Its CO2 battery enabled Energy Dome to run out winner in the “Providing round-the-clock zero-emissions power” category thanks to its development and marketing of technology for the long-duration storage of energy.

A look at the well-being of the Planet

With Energy Dome, we are contributing to the ecological transition

With ever greater interest in climate change and its impact on the Planet and on our communities, giving life to an economy which is increasingly sustainable from an environmental and social point of view – thus achieving the so-called ecological transition – has become a priority for us. This is why we believe so strongly in the solution proposed by this start-up. The CO2 battery will, in fact, enable greater use of renewable energy in the energy mix and, at the same time, satisfy the increasing need for the storage of energy essential in renewable-intense electrical systems, thus contributing to the ecological transition.

Furthermore, by backing the activities and goals of the Energy Dome start-up, we can contribute to achievement of three of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN 2030 Agenda: 

  • Affordable and clean energy (Goal 7)
  • Industry, innovation and infrastructure (Goal 9)
  • Climate action (Goal 13)

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