Long Duration Battery + Data Center Might Be a Game Changer

Google Data Center in New Albany, Ohio

Been waiting for this break out moment for Form Energy’s long term storage technology.
Could this be it? in the cutting edge Tech Center of ..Minnesota?

Canary Media:

Form Energy invented a novel iron-air battery to store clean energy for much longer timeframes than conventional lithium-ion batteries can. The startup is still constructing its first commercial project, in Minnesota, but today revealed it has clinched a potentially game-changing follow-up in the same state to support a Google data center.

The utility Xcel Energy will install 300 megawatts of Form’s batteries in Pine Island, Minnesota. It’s a big battery installation for the Midwest, but developers have built several grid storage plants elsewhere with more megawatt capacity. What shoots this project into the energy-storage stratosphere is that it will dispatch energy for up to 100 hours straight — enough to pump clean energy through multiday weather patterns that would limit renewable production. That unique capability means the Pine Island Form plant, fully charged, will hold 30 gigawatt-hours of energy, an astonishing amount for the grid as we know it.

The deal is also notable in that it proves Form has found commercial traction even before its first installation for a utility customer is complete. That outcome was possible because Xcel has seen Form develop its technology for years, said Form CEO Mateo Jaramillo, who co-founded the firm in 2017.

“Xcel in particular has been with us through every step of the journey — when the chemistry was in a very small bucket, essentially, to complete deployed systems,” Jaramillo said. ​“They saw the challenging things that we worked through. They saw us solve hard problems. They saw us come out the other side.”

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New Process Means Big Gains for Lithium, Rare Earths

Flash Joule Heating.
I first read about this process when it emerged from a lab at Rice University a few years ago.
Big potential for extracting lithium from ore, rare earths from a variety of feedstocks, including E-waste, and coal ash.

Rice University:

A new one-step, water, acid- and alkali-free method for extracting high-purity lithium from spodumene ore has the potential to transform critical metal processing and enhance renewable energy supply chains. This study was published in Science Advances Oct. 3.

As the demand for lithium continues to rise, particularly for use in electric cars, smartphones and power storage, current extraction methods are struggling to keep pace. Extracting lithium from salty water is a lengthy process, and traditional methods that use heat and chemicals to extract lithium from rock produce significant amounts of harmful waste. 

Researchers led by James Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry and professor of materials science and nanoengineering at Rice University, have developed a faster and cleaner method using flash Joule heating (FJH). This technique rapidly heats materials to thousands of degrees within milliseconds and works in conjunction with chlorine gas, exposing the rock to intense heat and chlorine gas, they can quickly convert spodumene ore into usable lithium.

“This method reimagines how to harvest lithium from its most abundant ore, spodumene, a material that is abundant in the U.S.,” said Tour, co‑corresponding author of the study. “We can leapfrog monthslong water evaporation pools and dayslong acid leaching and then directly generate lithium chloride.” 

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Data Centers Could Lower Indiana Electric Rates

Data points.
Data Centers could in many cases be a downward pressure on rates, as they bring big new revenue on line to help pay for Transmission and infrastructure.
Examples here from Indiana and Arizona.

WPTA Fort Wayne:

Indiana Michigan Power announced Tuesday it will file for regulatory approval to lower base electric rates, which the utility said represent the largest portion of customer bills.

The move is part of I&M’s new Customer Benefits Plan, which must be approved by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission before taking effect. The utility attributed the proposed rate decrease to increased revenue from large customers, including data centers such as Google’s Fort Wayne site.

The plan also includes a “Benefits Bank” designed to help stabilize customer rates by providing a buffer against future cost increases. I&M said it also wants to make strategic improvements in infrastructure and technology to reduce outages and improve reliability.

The announcement comes as advocates have raised concerns over electric rate increases tied to data center growth. I&M has also filed separately to accelerate new power plant construction, as demand is projected to nearly double between 2025 and 2030.

“Our priority is to keep rates as low as possible while delivering reliable power and growing our communities. We know customers are concerned about affordability and the impact of data-center growth on rates. The fact that we can reduce rates while continuing to invest in the infrastructure and technology that supports reliability, is evidence that growth in I&M’s service territory is benefiting all customers.”
– Steve Baker, I&M’s President and Chief Operating Officer

Google also previously agreed to reduce its data center’s electrical use during times of peak demand.

Below, Arizona Utility CEO tells an interviewer that new Data Centers will have to pay their own way and will not burden ratepayers.

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Michael Mann on Record Nor’Easter

Strong storms getting stronger, while our ability to predict and respond to storms is being systematically dismantled to enrich the Epstein Class.

Brain Poison: PBS Newshour on Trump Gutting Mercury Rules

They want us to be dumber. This is one way to do it. Natural Resources Defense Council responds to EPA gutting of Mercury rules for coal plants, above.

The EPA is promoting the dumb along multiple tracks, however.
One of them is the North Korean style obeisance and adoration for the Great Leader.

EPA.gov:

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin released the following statement on the heels of President Trump’s State of the Union Address:

“Tonight, the American people witnessed a State of the Union that was nothing short of historic. President Trump delivered a powerful vision for America’s future, one centered on lowering costs for families, unleashing American energy, securing our borders, and keeping our communities safe,” said Administrator Lee Zeldin. “One year in, our nation is stronger, safer, and more affordable. America’s golden age is here!”

Another Soviet-worthy headline incorporates mandatory Trump Speak into policy announcements.

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Despite Trump’s Worst Impulses, Coal Losing its Grip

In a payoff to his Coal Baron contributors, Donald Trump has forced obsolete coal plants in several states to stay open, and middle class ratepayers to continue to subsidize the Oligarchs and 1 percent.
But markets are powerful, and renewables are too compelling to stop.

Oil Price:

In 2025, the share of renewables in U.S. electricity generation has surpassed 25 percent.

Over the course of the past 20 years, their share has continuously risen from just 8.6 percent in 2007.

At the same time, as Statista’s Kathraina Buchholz details in the infographic below, coal in electricity generation fell from a share of 49 percent to just 16.4 percent last year.

While Trump administration’s policies regarding renewable energy and greenhouse gases have yet to show their full effect, experts believe that the sector’s strong growth as well as efficiency and cost improvements will cause it to expand further – albeit slower – despite some government funding losses and the end of emission limits.

In 2022, more electricity was generated from renewable sources in the U.S. for the first time over the course of one year than from coal.

That year, renewable energy sources created more than 900 terawatt-hours of electric power in the country compared to a little over 800 that came from coal.

On a global scale, this change happened last year as renewables outweighed coal electricity generation in the second half of 2025.

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Is China’s Transition Moving Fast Enough?

BBC World Service report.

China’s overwhelming dominance in renewables discussed, but can they move away from fossil fuels fast enough to impact climate change?

“At the moment, China’s emissions are flatlining”- but too soon to declare victory.

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