US data center developer, Prometheus Hyperscale, has signed an agreement with XL Batteries, a long-duration battery manufacturer, to deploy on-site long-duration energy storage systems (LDES) across Prometheus’ data center portfolio.
The deployment will occur over several phases. In the initial phase, XL will supply and install a 333kW demonstration-scale, standalone Organic Flow Battery at an undisclosed Prometheus site in 2027. Following this, Prometheus plans to acquire a 12.5MW/125MWh commercial-scale system in 2028, with another identical system to follow in 2029.
The partners aim to scale the solution across several Prometheus facilities, which they say will place the data center developer at the forefront of data center resilience and sustainability.
XL’s battery solution uses organic molecules that are “fundamentally stable in the charged and discharged state.” The company contends that, unlike other metal and elemental battery chemistries, organic compounds can be modified at the molecular level. The chemistry is instead derived from feedstocks and geographically diverse materials, shielding the company from supply chain fluctuations and geopolitics.
As a result, the company claims that the batteries have a 20-plus-year life span, which is 100 percent sustainable, due to the absence of any rare earth metals or minerals.
XL Batteries co-founder and CEO Dr. Thomas Sisto said the technology functions similarly to a vanadium redox flow battery. However, instead of dissolving vanadium in sulfuric acid, it utilizes organic molecules and pH-neutral water.
The company was founded in 2019 by scientists at Columbia University, New York. In April, it commissioned its first pilot project with global storage terminals provider Stolthaven Terminals at Stolthaven’s Houston, Texas facility.
Formally known as Wyoming Hyperscale Whitebox, the Wyoming-based company initially planned to develop a 120MW campus in its home state back in 2020. However, plans were revised to 1.2GW with additional campuses in Arizona and Colorado.
Earlier this month, the company signed a partnership agreement to power its Wyoming data center with a natural gas power solution tied to carbon removal credits.
