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Google is collaborating with and investing in Italian energy storage startup Energy Dome, its first commercial agreement for long-duration energy storage.

Why it matters: The deal is the latest evidence that tech giants are racing to add electricity.

Google, in particular, is plowing ahead with its industry-leading aggressive clean energy goals.

Zoom in: The companies say the deal will lead to the development of Energy Dome storage projects in Europe, the U.S. and Asia, and the scale up would occur "at a rapid pace" to meet Google's 2030 goals. 

They say they've identified a pipeline of sites and projects that are in the development and contracting stages, but declined to identify specific locations or the energy capacity of the projects.

Google is also investing in Energy Dome, but declined to reveal the financial terms.

How it works: Energy Dome's "CO2 battery" is a thermodynamic system that uses CO2 as the working fluid, as well as commodities steel and water, keeping costs low.

The system "charges" by using electricity to draw CO2 gas through a compressor and condenses it into a liquid, which is stored under pressure in tanks. The process creates heat, which is also stored.

The battery "discharges" by evaporating the liquid CO2 with the heat and pushes the CO2 gas through a turbine to generate power.

Long-duration storage is a type of energy storage that can offer 10 or more hours of storage capacity and is an emerging market. Most new storage projects are using lithium-ion batteries for shorter periods of time.

Zoom out: Many energy execs think long-duration energy storage will be key to pair with solar and wind to make them more competitive around the clock with natural gas.

Others think lithium-ion batteries will eventually get so cheap that they'll provide long-duration energy storage.

The big picture: For many years, Google has played a key role in helping boost emerging clean energy technologies.

That's because it has one of the most aggressive clean energy goals around: to be 100% powered by carbon-free energy for 24/7 by 2030.

The 24/7 aspect is the tricky part, opting to run its data centers on local, around-the-clock clean energy, instead of buying clean energy from projects far away from its operations. 

Google recently reported a 27% increase in year-on-year electricity consumption between 2023 and 2024 due to data center growth. At the same time, Google signed contracts for 8 GW of clean energy deals.

The bottom line: Google needs to invest in emerging energy tech because the current mainstream commercial tech might not be enough.

Google links with storage startup Energy Dome

The search engine giant needs emerging energy tech to reach its goals.

A vast solar farm with countless blue solar panels in a desert at sunset, large white energy storage domes labeled "Energy Dome," mountains in the background under a partly cloudy sky.

A rendering of an Energy Dome energy storage project located next to a solar farm. Image: Courtesy of Energy Dome

Google is collaborating with and investing in Italian energy storage startup Energy Dome, its first commercial agreement for long-duration energy storage.Why it matters: The deal is the latest evidence that tech giants are racing to add electricity.

Google links with storage startup Energy Dome

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