LiNa Energy and ACWA Power Progress Long-Duration Energy Storage in the Middle East After Successful Testing

September 2024 – LiNa Energy announces collaboration with ACWA Power to advance long-duration energy storage across the Middle East. Since signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in February 2024, LiNa Energy has successfully completed testing of its cutting-edge sodium battery energy storage technology. This milestone highlights the progress made since the MoU was established and underscores both companies’ commitment to advancing sustainable energy solutions in the region.

Energy storage is poised to revolutionise solar-rich regions like the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). However, many existing technologies, including lithium-ion batteries, face significant challenges in coping with the extreme temperature fluctuations characteristic of these areas, where temperatures can soar during the day and plummet at night.

As solar energy deployment continues to expand globally, LiNa Energy remains committed to overcoming the storage challenge. Cost-effective, long-duration storage solutions like our sodium battery system are essential to maximising the potential of solar energy and reducing reliance on fossil fuels when the sun isn’t shining.

This partnership follows the successful testing of LiNa Energy’s latest generation energy storage system in collaboration with ACWA Power. Thermatron thermal testing, designed to mirror conditions encountered at solar sites, demonstrated the strong performance arising from LiNa’s sodium battery cells operating at high internal temperatures. The LiNa system was subjected to conditions similar to those in the Middle East and beyond, including Azerbaijan, with temperatures ranging from -20°C to +55°C. Despite these extreme variations, the system consistently maintained its operating temperature, showing no meaningful drop in efficiency.

Will Tope, CEO, LiNa said “We know that renewable energy will only achieve mass uptake if our grids can provide sufficient storage to counter the ‘duck curve’ demand problem. Through our collaboration with ACWA Power, we’ve shown that LiNa’s technology can thrive in the harsh Middle Eastern climate, making it a key solution for solar energy storage. This agreement marks our first step into the Middle East, and we’re excited to unlock the broader global potential of our technology as we move forward.”

ACWA Power has focused on advancing energy storage technologies, particularly long-duration energy storage (LDES), as part of its commitment to enhancing grid stability and supporting the integration of renewable energy sources.

The collaboration between ACWA Power and LiNa Energy offers a significant opportunity to advance long-duration energy storage for large-scale, sustainable projects in the GCC and beyond.

Moving forward, LiNa Energy and ACWA Power plan to strengthen their collaboration, including field installations of LiNa’s solid-state sodium battery systems for trials in the Middle East in 2025.