World's first 'carbon dioxide battery' facility opens in Italy

Energy storage company Energy Dome has launched its first ever "CO₂ Battery facilty" in Sardinia, Italy.

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The carbon dioxide (CO₂) battery technology uses electric compressors to compress huge amounts of carbon dioxide gas inside a flexible dome into smaller and smaller volumes before the pressure is so great that it turns into a liquid. This process, in effect, "charges" the battery, while also generating some waste heat, which is captured by a thermal energy storage system.

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The carbon dioxide can be safely stored for a long duration, awaiting use. When the battery is to be discharged, the stored heat is used to return the liquid carbon dioxide to a gaseous state, causing it to expand by almost 400 times. This expansion powers a set of turbines which returns energy to the grid, resulting in a round-trip efficiency of more than 75%, according to Energy Dome.

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Though the efficiency is lower than that of lithium batteries, so is the cost. The technology is expected to cost US$50-60 per megawatt hour (MWh) within the next few years, compared to the cost of lithium batteries, which sits at around US$132-245 per MWh.

"I am proud of our dedicated team and of our results. We can now provide an answer to the most pressing issue of our time: climate change. Our breakthrough technology, the CO2 Battery, is now commercially available to make cost-effective renewable energy dispatchable on a global scale," said Energy Dome Founder and CEO Claudio Spadacini.