Form Energy, Google, and Xcel Partner to Build One of the World’s Largest Iron-Air Batteries: 30 GWh at $33-50/kWh

September 20, 2026

Facilities Dive USA

Overview

Form Energy, Google, and Xcel Energy are collaborating on a $1 billion project to create one of the world’s largest iron-air batteries, projected to produce 30 GWh of energy at an exceptionally low cost of $33 to $50 per kilowatt-hour. This ambitious initiative aims to provide long-duration energy storage solutions for large facilities, including data centers, paving the way for accelerated grid decarbonization and stable renewable energy integration. The innovative 100-hour iron-air battery technology is expected to play a critical role in transforming grid reliability and energy economics.

In Depth

Key Findings

A significant collaboration involving Form Energy, Google, and Xcel Energy is advancing towards the creation of one of the world’s largest iron-air battery projects, boasting a staggering 30 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of energy capacity. This monumental $1 billion initiative is targeting an exceptionally low energy production cost of $33 to $50 per kilowatt-hour, aiming to provide groundbreaking long-duration energy storage solutions for large-scale facilities, including critical data centers. This partnership signifies a major leap in addressing the global need for affordable and reliable grid-scale energy storage.

Technical / Clinical Details

At the core of this project is Form Energy’s proprietary 100-hour iron-air battery technology. This innovative system utilizes abundant and inexpensive iron as its primary electrode, reacting with oxygen from the air to store and release energy. During charging, oxygen is absorbed, causing the iron to oxidize into rust (iron hydroxide); during discharge, oxygen is released, and the rust reverts to iron, generating electricity. This chemical process enables a vastly longer discharge duration compared to traditional lithium-ion batteries, which rely on more expensive and rarer metals, leading to substantial manufacturing cost reductions.

The 30 GWh storage capacity is immense, capable of powering a city-scale load for multiple days, making it indispensable for overcoming the intermittency of renewable energy sources. The targeted cost of $33 to $50 per kWh is highly competitive for long-duration grid storage, rendering the transition to clean energy more economically viable. The involvement of tech giant Google and utility provider Xcel Energy underscores the practical and large-scale applicability of this technology, moving it beyond research into significant commercial deployment for both utility-scale grids and energy-intensive commercial operations.

Background & Context

The global acceleration towards renewable energy adoption has created an urgent demand for large-scale energy storage systems to stabilize power grids against the variability of solar and wind generation. While lithium-ion batteries excel at short to medium-duration storage, the challenge of storing energy for multiple days has remained a significant hurdle, primarily due to cost and scalability. Form Energy’s iron-air battery addresses this ‘long-duration storage gap,’ attracting considerable attention from the power sector and industries with critical uptime requirements, such as data centers. For data centers, which demand 24/7 reliable power, cost-effective long-duration storage is crucial for decarbonization efforts and operational resilience.

Strategic Significance & Outlook

This collaboration between Form Energy, Google, and Xcel Energy marks a transformative moment for the future of energy infrastructure. Successful deployment of this project will provide compelling evidence of the commercial viability of iron-air battery technology, potentially catalyzing similar large-scale, long-duration storage initiatives worldwide. Industries, particularly data centers, will gain a new pathway to secure stable, clean power supplies, reduce operational costs, and significantly lower their carbon footprint. This endeavor is expected to accelerate the decarbonization of electricity grids, making the vision of renewable energy as a primary baseload power source more tangible and economically achievable, serving as a critical milestone in the global energy transition.

Source: https://www.facilitiesdive.com/news/airjoule-27m-deal-could-help-push-water-from-air-technology-into-data-cent/830420/

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