Energy Vault selected KORE Power to deliver domestically produced batteries starting in 2025, which is when phase one of the KOREPlex facility in Arizona is expected to come online. The Master Supply Agreement outlines an initial delivery capacity of 1.3 GWh in 2025, ramping up to 7 GWh in 2027 as KORE’s domestic battery production expands.
“Energy Vault is positioned to be a leading provider of energy storage solutions, and with a reliable supply of domestically produced KORE Power batteries, will be able to meet the commitments it has made to advance storage capacity in the United States,” said KORE CEO and Founder Lindsay Gorrill.
In the first phase of the agreement with Energy Vault, KORE Power will manufacture the batteries at its KOREPlex facility in Buckeye, Ariz. The company broke ground on that facility late last year and anticipates it will come online in 2025.
Energy Vault had set its sights on building gravity energy storage centers as a future-focused answer to the need for long-duration energy storage. They made a compelling pitch for the concept at Intersolar 2022. Since then though, at least short-term, the company has shifted to the more conventional route of lithium-ion-based energy storage. Energy Vault made a $15M early-stage strategic investment in KORE Power alongside Siemens Financial Services, Quanta Services, Honeywell Ventures and others.
“Energy Vault sought a strategic domestic battery manufacturing partner that would provide an advantage to our grid-scale energy storage solution customers,” said Marco Terruzzin, Chief Commercial & Product Officer, Energy Vault. “Our detailed diligence of KORE Power revealed they could offer a tier-one quality product at attractive unit economics that will be made in Arizona and therefore qualify for certain IRA incentives to benefit our customers.”
KORE Power announced its own ambitious plans for domestic lithium battery manufacturing in 2021. In phase one of the KOREPlex’s operations, the facility will have a total production capacity of a minimum of 6 GWh annually. It will produce both NMC and LFP battery cells for customers in the energy storage and e-mobility sectors.
The company is exploring expanding production capacity in subsequent phases at the KOREPlex to as much as 18 GWh, and it is also exploring expanding its manufacturing capacity with additional U.S. facilities.
“We see KORE Power leading the way as one of the first independent domestic manufacturers,” said Kevin Keough, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, Energy Vault. “Our investment gains us significant time-to-market leverage as well as other important competitive advantages in the very large U.S. market segment for our energy storage solutions.”
In June, KORE Power announced receipt of a conditional commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) for a loan in the principal amount of $850 million under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) Loan Program to fund the construction of the KOREPlex.
— Solar Builder magazine
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