Long-duration batteries are a winner in the AI boom

Long-duration energy storage has so far struggled to earn a foothold in the conservative utility industry. The technology’s prospects seemed to worsen when the US government shifted support away from renewable energy projects.But the race to build data centers for artificial intelligence companies is offering a new niche for long-duration batteries. Connecting data centers to the grid comes with delays, and using renewable energy and companion storage batteries can help AI companies get electricity faster.In March, Form Energy agreed to build iron-air batteries that could provide multiple days of electricity for Crusoe, a company that builds data centers for AI firms. Just a month earlier, Form revealed plans to install a multiday battery for a Google data center in Minnesota. It’s expected to be the world’s biggest battery by energy capacity.Data centers are the fastest growing application for Eos Energy Enterprises’ zinc-based long-duration battery, company executives said on a February investor call. Data centers represented nearly a quarter of the company's pipeline of projects last November, and that number continues to grow.“The industry needs power, needs power quickly,” Eos CEO Joe Mastrangelo said on the call.Other long-duration battery chemistries are also getting traction with data centers. In April, New Era Energy & Digital announced it’s considering Energy Dome's carbon dioxide battery, which stores energy by converting CO2 from gas to liquid form, for a data center project in Texas. FlexBase Group will use a vanadium flow battery to help power its AI hub in Switzerland. Prometheus Hyperscale is testing XL