RealSense spins out of Intel to scale its stereoscopic imaging technology

Electricity powers modern life. And we’re accelerating a wide range of technologies, from enhanced geothermal to advanced nuclear to even fusion technologies, that can enable a future where on-demand electricity needs are met with clean energy, every hour of every day.Today, we’re adding another technology to our portfolio: long duration energy storage (LDES). Through a new long-term partnership with Energy Dome, we plan to support multiple commercial projects globally to deploy their LDES technology.Energy Dome’s novel CO₂ Battery can store excess clean energy and then dispatch it back to the grid for 8-24 hours, bridging the gap between when renewable energy is generated and when it is needed. With this commercial partnership, as well as an investment in the company, we believe these projects can unlock new clean energy for grids where we operate before 2030, helping meet near-term electricity system needs and moving us closer to our 24/7 carbon-free energy goal.By bringing this first-of-a-kind LDES technology to market faster, we aim to rapidly bring its potential to communities everywhere — making reliable, affordable electricity available around the clock and supporting the resilience of grids as they integrate growing amounts of renewable energy sources.Why it’s importantLithium-ion batteries, which typically store and dispatch power for 4 hours or less, have been critical for adding electricity capacity to grids and managing short-term fluctuations in renewable generation — when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing. Google’s support for these shorter-duration batteries has helped the grids we rely on, from Belgium to Nevada, meet peak electricity demand and reduce the need to ramp up fossil fuel power plants.But what if we could store and dispatch clean energy for more than a few hours, or even a full day? Studies by the Electric Power Research Institute show that LDES technologies can cost-effectively integrate a growing volume of renewables onto power systems and contribute to more flexible, reliable grids. The LDES Council estimates that deploying up to 8 terawatts (TW) of LDES by 2040 could result in $540 billion in annual savings globally, thanks in part to their ability to optimize grids.How the technology worksEnergy Dome’s novel approach to energy storage uses carbon dioxide (CO₂) held in a unique dome-shaped battery. When there’s an abundance of renewable energy on the grid, the system uses that power to compress CO₂ gas into a liquid. When the grid needs more clean power, the liquid CO₂ expands back into a hot gas under pressure, creating a powerful force — much like steam escaping a pressure cooker — which spins a turbine. This spinning turbine generates carbon-free energy that can flow directly back into the grid for durations ranging from 8 to 24 hours.Energy Dome has already signed contracts to build commercial scale projects in Italy, the U.S., and India. And their technology has already proven successful, having injected electrons into the Italian grid for more than three years, thanks to their commercial demonstration facility and now with their full-scale 20 megawatt (MW) commercial plant in Sardinia, Italy.Why scale is crucialLDES has the potential to commercialize much faster than some of the other advanced clean energy technologies in our portfolio. This means we can use it in the near term to help the electricity system grow more flexibly and reliably, alongside other tools we’re developing such as data center demand response.By supporting multiple commercial deployments of Energy Dome’s technology globally, we aim to bring this technology to scale faster and at lower costs. Beyond our long-term collaboration with Energy Dome, we plan to support a growing range of LDES technologies under development through both commercial agreements that can catalyze wider market adoption of more mature technologies, like Energy Dome’s, as well as earlier-stage investments.To remove barriers to the deployment and commercialization of LDES and other advanced carbon-free energy technologies, we’re also advocating for clean energy policies, ensuring that energy markets fully value firm, flexible carbon-free technologies, and advancing policy measures that enable infrastructure essential for grid decarbonization and energy security.We’re excited to take this first step with Energy Dome to unlock the full potential of LDES. Our partnership will strengthen grid resilience while enabling us to power our technologies, grow our economies and keep the lights on in our homes with 24/7 clean energy.

Join the event trusted by enterprise leaders for nearly two decades. VB Transform brings together the people building real enterprise AI strategy. Learn more Intuit has been on a journey over the last several years with generative AI, incorporating the technology as part of its services at QuickBooks, Credit Karma,Turbotax and Mailchimp. Today the company is…

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Hyperscalers and data center developers are in a pickle: They all want to add computing power tomorrow, but utilities frequently play hard to get, citing years-long waits for grid connections.

“All the AI data centers are struggling to get connected,” Amit Narayan, founder and CEO of Gridcare, told TechCrunch. “They’re so desperate. They are looking for solutions, which may or may not happen. Certainly not in the five-year timelines they cite.”

That has led many data centers to pursue what’s called “behind the meter” power sources — basically, they build their own power plants, a costly endeavor that hints at just how desperate they are for electricity.

But Narayan knew there was plenty of slack in the system, even if utilities themselves haven’t discovered it yet. He has studied the grid for the last 15 years, first as a Stanford researcher then as a founder of another company. “How do we create more capacity when everyone thinks that there is no capacity on the grid?” he said.

Narayan said that Gridcare, which has been operating in stealth, has already discovered several places where extra capacity exists, and it’s ready to play matchmaker between data centers and utilities.

Gridcare recently closed an oversubscribed $13.5 million seed round, the company told TechCrunch. The round was led by Xora, Temasek’s deep tech venture firm, with participation from Acclimate Ventures, Aina Climate AI Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Discovery, Clearvision, Clocktower Ventures, Overture Ventures, Sherpalo Ventures, and WovenEarth.

For Narayan and his colleagues at Gridcare, the first step to finding untapped capacity was to map the existing grid. Then the company used generative AI to help forecast what changes might be implemented in the coming years. It also layers on other details, including the availability of fiber optic connections, natural gas, water, extreme weather, permitting, and community sentiment around data center construction and expansion. 

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“There are 200,000-plus scenarios that you have to consider every time you’re running this study,” Narayan said.

To make sure it’s not running afoul of regulations, Gridcare then takes that data and weighs it against federal guidelines that dictate grid usage. Once it finds a spot, it starts talking with the relevant utility to verify the data.

“We’ll find out where the maximum bang for the buck is,” Narayan said.

At the same time, Gridcare works with hyperscalers and data center developers to identify where they are looking to expand operations or build new ones. “They have already told us what they’re willing to do. We know the parameters under which they can operate,” he said.

That’s when the matchmaking begins.

Gridcare sells its services to data center developers, charging them a fee based on how many megawatts of capacity the startup can unlock for them. “That fee is significant for us, but it’s negligible for data centers,” Narayan said.

For some data centers, the price of admission might be forgoing grid power for a few hours here and there, relying on on-site backup power instead. For others, the path might be clearer if their demand helps green-light a new grid-scale battery installation nearby. In the future, the winner might be the developer that is willing to pay more. Utilities have already approached Gridcare inquiring about auctioning access to newfound capacity.

Regardless of how it happens, Narayan thinks that Gridcare can unlock more than 100 gigawatts of capacity using its approach. “We don’t have to solve nuclear fusion to do this,” he said.

Update: Corrected spare capacity on the grid to gigawatts from megawatts.