Project:
CUSTOMER:
New York State Energy Deployment Research Authority (NYSERDA)
TECHNOLOGIES USED:
PARTNERS / COLLABORATORS:
STATUS:
Active, to be completed in Spring 2025.
To meet the ever-increasing demand for electrification with clean sources of energy, new forms of long-duration energy storage solutions are needed. The New York State Energy Deployment Research Authority (NYSERDA) aims to accelerate the growth of long duration energy storage in New York State through grant opportunities for technologies that reduce the intermittency of solar and wind energy, increase system efficiency and resiliency, and efficiently integrate with the power grid while addressing cost concerns.
Sperra’s approach to subsea pumped hydro storage is a next-generation version of pumped hydro independently invented and proven by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 0.75-m diameter and by the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany at 2.5-m diameter. Sperra has incorporated several innovations into its patent-pending next-generation subsea pumped hydro storage system that reduce cost and expand its feasibility.
Sperra received a grant from NYSERDA for Long Duration Energy Storage Technology and Product Development in Spring 2022. This project aims to develop and demonstrate 3D concrete printing technologies for manufacturing subsea pumped hydro storage components.
PROJECT GOALS:
- Procure and commission large-scale 3D concrete printing equipment needed to fabricate subsea pumped hydro components.
- Design, fabricate, and test a prototype subsea pumped hydro storage sphere.
- Perform print trials of subsea pumped hydro storage components at up to 12 m diameter.Â
- Perform manufacturing, assembly, and industrialization analyses for manufacturing commercial subsea pumped hydro storage in New York State ports.
- Estimate the levelized cost of storage (LCOS) and quantify economic benefits of subsea pumped hydro storage plants in New York State.