Form Energy looks to undercut battery market

With a cost proposition around $20/kWh, the startup hopes to disrupt the more established lithium-ion industry

Form Energy—a small energy startup located in Somerville, Massachusetts—has made a major breakthrough in long-term grid storage using a battery based on iron. With a cost proposition of around $20/kWh and a discharge cycle that could last as long as 100 hours, the company claims it will be able to solve one of the most difficult challenges facing renewable energy—the need to store excess wind and solar generation, releasing it back to the grid to meet demand when needed. Lithium-ion batteries, mostly running in four-hour cycles, are the preferred solution for power grid management at present. Form Energy’s iron-air battery would offer the radical new capability of a four-day battery, making