Quidnet Energy tests MWh-scale geomechanical energy storage

Quidnet Energy has demonstrated its long-duration geomechanical energy storage (GES) at the megawatt-hour scale. The tech stores excess grid electricity by pressurizing water underground, later releasing it to supply reliable power.

From pv magazine USA

Quidnet Energy, a specialist in long-duration energy storage solutions for delivering baseload power, has completed demonstration and testing of its GES technology at the megawatt-hour scale.

Low-cost long-duration energy storage has been the holy grail in making intermittent solar act like baseload thermal generation. Houston-based Quidnet Energy’s patented GES technology uses excess electricity from the grid to store water beneath the ground under pressure, delivering that energy later to provide reliable power to the grid.

The tests were conducted at the company’s test site in Houston, where Quidnet confirmed that its GES solution can deliver robust, grid-scale energy storage. Quidnet completed MWh-scale functional testing and accelerated lifetime testing of the GES technology, and the results validated GES capabilities across critical performance benchmarks, including negligible self-discharge and capacity degradation, the company reports.

“Achieving this level of performance and scale marks a major milestone in our development of the GES technology,” said Joe Zhou, CEO of Quidnet Energy. “These tests confirm that our storage technology is ready for commercial deployments just as electrical grids grapple with the rapid rise in load growth from industrial electrification and AI data centers. With a mature, well-established supply chain and proven technology, we look forward to delivering GES at scale at a critical time for the energy industry.”

In 2020, pv magazine USA reported on Quidnet’s GES technology. Zhou explained that the process “uses time-tested well-drilling and construction technologies to pump water under pressure into subsurface geological reservoirs to store energy. When variable renewable energy is not available, this water is released to drive hydroelectric turbines to power the electric grid.”

Zhou said that the company was “building off of known supply chains: pumping, wells, drilling, piping … Today, the duration is 10 hours but we can get to tens of hours, maybe hundreds of hours, dependent on the volume of the cavern.”

Quidnet noted that the tests mark a key technology milestone in Quidnet’s developmental support from Dallas-based Hunt Energy Network following their $10 million investment announced in 2024.

“With the completion of these tests, we are excited to see Quidnet demonstrate the viability of their GES technology at MWh scale and further establish confidence for the durability of this storage solution,” said Pat Wood, CEO of Hunt Energy Network. “As Quidnet prepares for commercial projects, we look forward to collaborating with the company on our 300 MW partnership for storage in Texas.”

Quidnet launched in 2015 and to date has raised more than $60 million from companies such as Hunt Energy Network, Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy, and Prime.