By Josh Perry, Editor
[email protected]

According to a report from Michigan State University (East Lansing, Mich.), the school and its partners, Arizona State University (Temp, Ariz.), Texas-based manufacturer Dresser-Rand (which is owned by Siemens) and Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, will be awarded $2 million to reimagine long-duration energy storage options for the U.S. power grid.

Secretary for Science Paul Dabbar announced MSU is among the 10 recipients of ARPA-E grants during an event at the Innovation XLab Energy Storage Summit on Sept. 18. (Michigan State University)

The award is part of a program created by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E). The Duration Addition of electricitY Storage (DAYS) program is designed to promote new energy storage solutions that can “provide reliable, affordable power to the electric grid for up to 100 hours, enhancing grid resilience and performance.”

Michigan State researchers are working on the STORES project (Scalable Thermochemical Option for Renewable Energy Storage).

The team is building a modular thermal storage system that takes electricity from wind and solar power to heat magnesium manganese oxide particles to high temperatures. This will release oxygen and store thermal energy in the form of chemical energy. To access the stored energy, air passes over the particle bed and creates a chemical reaction that release heat into a gas turbine generator.

Read about all of the projects that were selected by ARPA-E at https://arpa-e.energy.gov/?q=document/days-project-descriptions.