FILE PHOTO: A logo is pictured at Google's European Engineering Center in Zurich, Switzerland July 19, 2018. Picture taken July 19, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo/File Photo
MILAN (Reuters) -Italian energy storage firm Energy Dome said on Friday it had entered a commercial partnership with Google to supply carbon-free energy to the grids that power the operations of the U.S. tech giant.
As part of the agreement, Google has made a strategic investment in Milan-based Energy Dome, which has developed a CO2 battery technology to support the energy transition through long-duration energy storage solutions, the companies said in a joint statement. They did not disclose the financial details.
Google joins other investors in the Italian energy storage firm such as Oman's sovereign wealth fund and global tank storage operator Vopak.
Google's first commercial long-duration energy storage deal is part of a growing number of advanced energy technologies the group needs to hit a goal to run its operations on 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030.
Energy Dome's CO2-based system stores energy by compressing and liquefying carbon dioxide, which is later expanded to generate electricity.
The technology avoids the use of scarce raw materials such as lithium and copper, making it potentially attractive to European policymakers seeking to reduce reliance on critical minerals and bolster energy security.
Energy Dome launched its first commercial-scale plant in Sardinia in 2022 with a view to completing it by the end of 2024, with a 24-hour cycle and a 20-megawatt capacity able to power 13,000-15,000 houses.
(Reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
