ROUNDUP: Power Vault Targets SPAC Itemizing, Swell Power Hawaii VPP Incentives, Canadian Solar Battery Deal – Power Storage Information

Energy Vault demonstrator project in Switzerland. Image: Energy safe.

September 10, 2021: Energy Vault is valued at $ 1.1 billion prior to listing on the NYSE

Energy Vault is the newest energy storage company to seek public listing of its shares through a proposed merger with a special purpose vehicle (SPAC).

Founded in Switzerland, Energy Vault has developed a novel gravity and kinetic energy-based technology that uses 35-ton blocks made of a concrete-like composite material that are lifted by cranes over 100 meters high to store and release energy. After generating interest and investments over the past three or four years to commercialize the product, the company raised $ 100 million through a Series C funding round that closed in August.

The merger with SPAC Novus Capital Corporation II announced yesterday would value the business at $ 1.1 billion and free up to $ 388 million in gross cash receipts. The SPAC has already received $ 100 million in Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) commitments from investors including Softbank Investment Advisors, Cemex Ventures, and Novus Capital affiliates and partners.

According to its own information, Energy Vault has concluded agreements and letters of intent for 1.2 GWh of energy storage with eight customers as part of a successful demonstrator project. Deployments will begin in the US in the fourth quarter of this year, with projects in Europe, the Middle East and Australia next year, the company said.

The combined company will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with the transaction expected to close in the first quarter of 2022, subject to conditions. The merger follows that of the long-term zinc-air battery manufacturer Eos Energy Storage, which became Eos Energy Enterprises after its SPAC merger, and the intelligent battery storage provider Stem Inc.

September 10, 2021: Hawaii VPP participants are eligible for up to $ 11,500 over five years

Virtual power plant (VPP) startup Swell Energy has announced the incentives to be paid to participants in its 80 MW VPP program in Hawaii.

Swell Energy, which connects home battery and solar systems to build multi-megawatt virtual power plants (VPPs) in the United States, said it is converting 6,000 customers in the O'ahu, Hawaii and Maui regions of Hawaii into one home battery will take up a reward program.

The program is being carried out in conjunction with utility Hawaiian Electric, which placed the 80 MW order with Swell earlier this year. A fixed monthly payment is applied to Hawaiian Electric's monthly utility bills.

Swell Energy said that a customer with a Tesla Powerwall could earn approximately $ 1,500 over the five-year term of the program, while a customer with three could earn up to $ 11,700 with no limit on the number of battery storage devices per customer Registered. In return, the utility can use the systems for applications including storing excess renewable energy for later use, injecting stored energy into the grid when it is most needed, and providing frequency response services.

Homeowners' need for backup power would not be affected, Swell Energy said in a press release yesterday. In a two-part series of in-depth interviews with this website in April, Sulemain Khan, CEO of Swell, explained the company's strategy and business model.

At the beginning of the summer, Hawaiian Electric also announced a “Battery Bonus” incentive program: a one-time monetary incentive that is paid to private and commercial customers on the island of O‘ahu to add battery storage to an existing or new PV system.

September 10, 2021: Canadian solar subsidiary supplies BESS for 1.4 GWh crimson project

Canadian Solar announced yesterday that its manufacturing subsidiary CSI Solar will provide the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) and EPC services on the Crimson 350MW / 1,400MWh battery project in California.

The vertically integrated solar PV company said that CSI Solar will provide fully integrated BESS and EPC services and long-term maintenance for the facility, which will be one of the largest BESS projects in the world.

The announcement came just hours after Energy-Storage.news reported that Canadian Solar's US project development subsidiary, Recurrent Energy, had sold an 80% stake in the project to investment management group Axium Infrastructure. Recurrent Energy announced yesterday that the project is expected to go into commercial operation in the summer of 2022.

CSI Solar will service the battery system for 15 years and it is expected that it will be supplemented with around 300 MWh of new batteries during this time.