SRP, CMBlu partner for 10-hour-duration storage pilot in Arizona

Arizona power utility Salt River Project (SRP) will deploy CMBlu Energy’s long-duration Organic SolidFlow energy storage technology in a 5-MW, 10-hour-duration pilot project.

The project, called Desert Blume and located at SRP’ Copper Crossing Energy and Research Center in Florence, Arizona, represents the first implementation of CMBlu’s batteries by a US electric utility at such a scale, the companies said on Thursday.

CMBlu will build, own and operate the batteries on behalf of SRP. The project will store energy from Arizona’s abundant solar generation during the day and release it to the grid throughout the night.

Construction is scheduled to start in early 2025, with the pilot expected to go live in December 2025. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) will help validate the technology’s performance in Arizona’s hot and dry climate.

SRP picked CMBlu after issuing a request for long-duration storage project proposals from energy storage start-ups. SRP’s chief executive Jim Pratt said the project “will be a helpful addition to SRP’s significant number of renewable resources and storage projects, which generally only store energy for up to four hours.”

“Desert Blume is a critical project to validate Organic SolidFlow batteries at scale and promote safe, sustainable and secure long-duration energy storage built in the United States,” commented Ben Kaun, president of CMBlu Energy’s US division.

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