Global energy provider Shell has backed up Newcastle start-up MGA Thermal’s plan to gather valuable data to provide the urgent need for longer-duration energy storage (LIDES) solutions with a new US$400K (AUD$560K) funding.
In particular, the funding will accelerate the completion of the MGA Thermal Energy Storage pilot that will demonstrate the firmed steam generation from stored intermittent renewable energy.
The pilot has a targeted storage capacity of 5 MWh and will be installed at the company’s head office in Tomago, New South Wales.
Charging and discharging rates for the pilot are up to 500 kW for 10 hours.
The pilot unit, which is around 12 meters long and 3 meters broad, will generate useful performance data and give prospective industrial and power customers a practical demonstration of the technology.
In order to verify the effectiveness of mid- to long-term thermal storage in a real system, data on charging and discharging behaviour, fluid dynamics, and temperature distributions will also be collected.
“MGA Thermal was selected from a pool of dozens of quality applicants to a long-duration energy storage call for solutions,” said Matt McDonald, from Shell GameChanger.
Mr McDonald added that he is thrilled that Shell will be able to support MGA Thermal’s pilot project and their goals to make it possible for renewable energy to be stored.
Meanwhile, Mark Croudace, CCO of MGA Thermal, also expressed his excitement with the award highlighting their technology is appealing to those seeking to decarbonise because of its high potential impact in the medium to long-duration energy storage sector.
“Shell’s funding, in conjunction with ARENA, allows us to accelerate our pilot, going live in 2023, gather additional data about our technology, and continue our rapid growth into commercial industrial and power markets,” the MGA Thermal official said.
