A plan to build a massive battery facility in Lincoln has people asking one big question: How would it work?
Form Energy, which is based in Somerville, Massachusetts, will build the iron-air energy storage facility in Lincoln with a $147 million federal grant. The facility will be built at the site of the old Lincoln pulp mill, which has sat vacant since it closed in 2015.
Plans are still in the preliminary stages and Form Energy is a burgeoning company, so there are a lot of unknowns about the project. Here’s what we know so far.
Who is behind Form Energy?
Form Energy is a start-up founded by Yet-Ming Chiang and Mateo Jaramillo in 2017. They saw a need for long-term energy storage in cost-effective options.
Before founding the company, Jaramillo, the CEO, worked as a vice president for Tesla’s stationary energy storage program. Chiang serves as the chief scientist and is also a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Jaramillo earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University and a theology masters degree from the Yale Divinity School. Chiang has a bachelors in materials science and engineering and a doctorate in ceramics from MIT.
How does the company get its funding?
It’s raised hundreds of millions of dollars through venture capital funding. A $147 million federal grant through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is funding the Lincoln facility.
The company has 17 investing companies, including global financial service company Macquarie, venture capital fund VamosVentures, and steel and mining company ArcelorMittal.
How does the iron-air battery work?
The batteries absorb excess energy from the electric grid, storing it until there is a need, when it can discharge for 100 continuous hours.
When an iron battery rusts, it brings in oxygen and discharges energy. Once the battery starts charging, the electrical current converts the rust back to iron and releases the oxygen, according to Form Energy’s website. Chiang explained the process in detail in a 2023 interview with PBS’ Nova series.
Each battery is about the size of a side-by-side washer and dryer, and contains 50 3-foot-tall cells. They can be placed nearly anywhere, from cities to rural areas.
The materials are recyclable and don’t have the chance of thermal runaway, which is when a battery heats up uncontrollably and can be destroyed or even catch fire.
The iron-air battery stores energy at less than a tenth of the cost of lithium-ion batteries, Form Energy said.
“We will ensure that our system meets all leading safety standards, and we will obtain all applicable safety certifications ahead of time,” Vice President of Communications Sarah Bray told the Bangor Daily News. “Before deploying our system in Lincoln, our iron-air battery systems will have been constructed and operated at scale for multiple utility customers across the country.”
Time named Form Energy’s batteries one of the best inventions of 2023.
Where is Form Energy going to manufacture the batteries?
Batteries will be built in Weirton, West Virginia, at the Form Factory 1, a high-volume manufacturing facility. Construction started in May 2023 at the site of a former steel plant. Manufacturing lines are now in trial stages, Bray said.
The first batteries will be delivered at the start of 2025, according to WTOV News9 in Ohio. At full capacity, 750 workers will be producing 500 megawatts of batteries.
Nearly $800 million in venture capital funding was put toward building the facility, according to the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization.
Where are other Form Energy facilities located?
The company is headquartered in Somerville and has a development and test pilot manufacturing facility in Eighty Four, Pennsylvania, about 25 miles southwest of Pittsburgh.
An engineering facility in Berkeley, California, works on design as well as validation and testing.
Colorado, Georgia, Minnesota, New York and Virginia all are scheduled to have energy storage facilities come online in the next few years, according to Form Energy’s website.
Why did Form Energy choose Maine?
The state’s goal of installing 400 megawatts of energy storage by 2030 is part of the reason Form Energy chose Maine, Bray said.
There is a “massive potential” for renewable energy generation in the state, but there are numerous challenges to storing it, which Form Energy will help address, Bray said. Storage should also help provide more reliability to the electrical grid during winter.
Why Lincoln, specifically?
The Lincoln Technology Park, where the old mill was, is a unique project redeveloping a Brownfields site, Bray said. It’s turning a polluted area into a site advancing clean technologies.
The site is also next to the Keene Road Substation, one of the most congested spots on the energy grid. The project may help relieve that congestion, Bray added.
Where do things stand with the Lincoln location?
Form Energy had conversations with Lincoln earlier this year about signing a lease. No lease has been signed, but the town said it’s eager to move forward, Economic Development Administrator Ruth Birtz said previously.
Construction is scheduled to begin in 2027, Form Energy said.
How many jobs are expected at the Lincoln facility?
Around 100 jobs will be created during construction, with a “handful” of full-time and maintenance jobs afterward, Form Energy previously said.
The company employs more than 800 people nationwide.
How big would the facility in Lincoln be, and how much energy would it provide?
The facility may take up 40 to 50 acres, from what the company previously told Lincoln officials. It will have 85 megawatts of batteries once built.
It will be able to store and discharge electricity to power at least 65,000 households.
“This project will benefit electricity customers across New England by providing system-wide reliability, transmission congestion relief, and further integration of clean and affordable renewable energy onto the grid,” Bray said.
What else does the company have planned in the region?
Form Energy will have a $1.5 million community investment fund for workforce development and education, Bray said. It will also have hiring preferences for local people, including members of Penobscot Nation.
