With a 30 million investment, Elestor aims to take its hydrogen bromine flow battery to GigaWatt-scale production

By Bart Brouwers

A €30 million investment will enable Arnhem-based electricity storage company Elestor to accelerate the commercialization of its hydrogen bromine flow battery. The growth strategy aims to achieve gigawatt-scale production capacity as soon as possible. 

Norwegian energy giant Equinor led the investment round. Invest-NL, tank storage company Vopak, Somerset Capital Partners, and existing shareholders EIT InnoEnergy and Enfuro Ventures are also part of the investor consortium. The capital injection is “a confirmation of Elestor’s technology and operational strength,” says CEO Guido Dalessie. “We are ready to offer the type of renewable energy storage solutions the world eagerly waits for: Long Duration Energy Storage.”

Two worlds of storage

“Everyone knows by now that we need energy storage, so it’s high time for a national deployment plan”

Our talk with Guido Dalessi, CEO and one of Elestor’s early investors, is squeezed in between two important performances. At an online conference in London, … Continued

Elestor, founded in 2014, has developed an innovative flow battery that uses hydrogen and bromine as active materials, both available almost indefinitely on Earth. In addition, because the battery generates hydrogen during the charging process, the concept introduces several new possibilities for integrating hydrogen infrastructures and electrolyzers. In this way, Elestor combines two worlds of energy storage: through batteries and in the form of hydrogen.

The technology makes it possible to store renewable energy produced by wind or solar farms, for example, in a way that is cheap and efficient, as well as robust and scalable. “Technologies that can store energy for long periods and at large scales, and low cost, are becoming increasingly important for stabilizing energy markets,” said Gareth Burns, Vice President of Equinor Ventures.

For Invest-NL, Elestor is a logical investment target because of its contribution to the energy transition, says Chief Investment Officer Leo Holwerda. “The hydrogen bromide flow battery has enormous potential for rapid scale-up and can thus accelerate the Dutch transition to a carbon-neutral and circular economy.” 

Economic benefits

In addition to the ecological benefits, there are also economic gains, expects Joes Daemen, of Somerset Capital Partners. He points to new jobs, economic growth, and financial returns for investors. But it all starts with the power of the technology itself, he says. “Elestor’s ability to deliver a low-cost, large-scale energy storage solution is essential to the energy transition.”

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