Hydrostor, a firm that uses compressed air in underground caverns to store excess electricity from power grids, has announced a $250 million U.S. investment from Goldman Sachs (GS).
Hydrostor's chief executive officer called the financing from the American investment bank “transformational” as the Toronto-based firm looks to deploy its technology globally. Demand for energy storage is on the rise as utilities phase out fossil-fuel power generation in favour of renewables such as wind and solar.
Hydrostor's compressed air energy storage projects use excess energy from electricity grids to pump compressed air into giant underground caverns. The air displaces water up to a surface-level reservoir. When power is needed, the water is released back down into the cavern, pushing the air past turbines that generate electricity as it exits.
Hydrostor said in a news release that Charlie Gailliot, head of energy transition private equity investing at Goldman Sachs, will join its board of directors. Hydrostor says the funds from Goldman Sachs will go towards its projects underway in Australia and California.
Last September, Hydrostor received $10 million from BDC Capital to support its pipeline of projects. The company also received $4 million last April from Natural Resources Canada's Energy Innovation Program to develop a 500-megawatt project in Ontario.
