Quidnet Energy, backed by Breakthrough Energy Ventures led by Bill Gates, recently demonstrated long-duration energy storage by storing electricity underground under pressure for six consecutive months with virtually no self-discharge.
The startup discharged 35 megawatt‑hours in June from its Texas pilot site for San Antonio’s municipal power utility after holding the charge in impermeable rock formations. Quidnet Energy Vice President of Engineering Bunker Hill hailed the outcome as strong validation of the robustness and scalability of the company's Geomechanical Energy Storage technology.
Quidnet Energy's Underground Battery Storage Could Transform Renewable Energy Grids
Quidnet Energy's patented GES method injects water into deep geological reservoirs and stores it under high pressure instead of pumping water uphill as in traditional pumped hydro systems. According to Quidnet Energy, the closed‑loop water system uses commercially available drilling, piping, and turbine technology repurposed from oil and gas infrastructure in the U.S.
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The system reuses water continuously, limiting evaporation and avoiding large surface reservoirs. Quidnet Energy positions itself to deploy modules rapidly in multiple regions, given the mature supply chain and standardized components.
Quidnet Energy CEO Joe Zhou estimates the round‑trip efficiency of its GES system at about 65% maximum, with likely real‑world performance closer to 50% due to economic trade‑offs in design, MIT Technology Review reports. That falls well short of lithium‑ion battery efficiency, or around 90%, but long‑duration applications value duration over efficiency, where economics can still be favorable.
The ability to store and deliver firm power over weeks or months makes GES ideal for supporting intermittent wind and solar generation as grid penetration increases. National Renewable Energy Laboratory senior research fellow Paul Denholm told MIT Technology Review that long‑duration systems can remain viable even at lower efficiencies as long as cost remains competitive.
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"We don't need to invent new things based on what we've already developed today," Zhou told MIT Technology Review. "We can now start just deploying at very, very substantial scales."
U.S. Tax Credits, Domestic Content and Utility Partnerships
New U.S. energy storage tax credits starting next year will require at least 55% domestic content in materials, a threshold Quidnet is well‑positioned to meet thanks to its U.S.‑based supply chain and operations, MIT Technology Review says.
According to Quidnet Energy, it has entered a 15‑year commercial agreement with CPS Energy, the largest municipal utility in the U.S., and is constructing its full facility, slated to launch in early 2026. The project is supported in part by an Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy grant awarded under the U.S. Department of Energy's Scaling Up program.
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Next Steps for Quidnet Energy and Future Impact
Quidnet Energy has raised more than $60 million and is backed by investors and partners including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the U.S. Department of Energy, Prime Impact Fund, Evok Innovations, Trafigura, the Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and Hunt Energy Network.
Deployment of GES at scale could address grid stability challenges created by rising demand from AI data centers and accelerating industrial electrification, according to Quidnet Energy. As the clean energy transition requires storage that can reliably deliver power for days or months, Quidnet Energy is developing a commercially viable, terrestrially-powered solution that treats the Earth itself as a battery.
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