A render of the proposed site. Image: FuturEnergy Ireland.

FuturEnergy Ireland has announced its intentions to build Europe’s first iron-air battery energy storage system (BESS).

The company has submitted a planning application for the proposed Ballynahone Energy Storage project to Donegal y Council. If approved, the project will be located next to Trillick Substation, near the town of Buncrana in y Donegal. The first and smallest project will have a 10MW/1GWh capacity, with later projects on the site having a maximum capacity of 8GWh.

Iron-air batteries work on the principle of reversible rusting. When the battery is discharging energy, the system takes in oxygen from the air and converts the iron metal into iron oxide, otherwise known as rust. While the battery is charging, an electrical current converts the rust back into iron, and the system expels oxygen. These batteries are capable of discharging energy at their full power output for up to 100 hours.

Paul Blount, portfolio director at FuturEnergy Ireland, said: “Ireland’s power sector decarbonisation targets are among the most ambitious of any ry globally. If we are to realise these ambitions, it is not enough to simply keep building more wind and solar projects.  We need new technologies with the ability to time-shift very large energy volumes at low cost if we are to fully decarbonise our power system in a manner that is affordable for consumers.

“Iron-air technology was ed by FuturEnergy Ireland following a robust procurement process. Based on analysis completed by our team, we believe this technology has the potential to be a gamechanger for the Irish power system. Form Energy, the US company behind this pioneering iron-air technology, is making a big impact in other energy markets.”

Form Energy and iron-air batteries

Form Energy has indeed been making a major splash in the global energy sector, with iron-air technology setting the industry abuzz.

The firm recently broke ground on its first pilot project, as covered by our sister site Energy Storage News. Funding offers have been abundant for Form Energy, having recently received a US$147 million (£109 million) cash injection from the US Department of Energy (DOE) for a new project at a disused paper mill in Maine, US.

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