GM Ventures, part of General Motors Co. in Detroit, has formed a strategic partnership with Peak Energy in California to develop and deploy next-generation sodium-ion battery cells purpose-built for grid storage applications.
Backed by a strategic investment from GM Ventures in Peak Energy, the partnership combines Peak’s passively cooled storage technology with GM’s battery cell development expertise to deliver what’s touted as the world’s most affordable, most reliable stationary storage.
Under the partnership, GM will develop the sodium-ion cell in its Michigan battery labs and retain exclusive manufacturing rights, while Peak will incorporate the cell into its proprietary energy storage systems. Details of the partnership were not disclosed.
“Lowering the cost of energy is one of the most important issues facing America today,” says Landon Mossburg, co-founder and CEO of Peak Energy. “The future of grid storage will be defined by affordability, reliability, and American innovation.”
Today’s energy storage technology is built around lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry and requires active cooling to maintain safe operating temperatures.
Peak Energy states its proprietary passively cooled battery storage system “eliminates energy-intensive cooling systems that increase costs.”
The energy company reports its sodium-ion system reduces energy storage costs by 20 percent compared to conventional systems, and delivers more than 99 percent uptime.
According to Peak Energy analysis, the United States could reduce battery storage’s annual energy waste by up to 2 TWh/year by switching from LFP-based systems to Peak’s passively cooled system, saving enough energy to power a midsized city for a year.
“At GM, we know that the application should determine the battery, and for grid-scale stationary storage, sodium-ion is the right solution,” says Kurt Kelty, vice president of battery and sustainability at General Motors.
“Peak is already demonstrating the value of sodium-ion through their innovative energy storage platform, and together we’re working to push those benefits even further with our next-generation cell (and) helping deliver more reliable, lower-cost energy storage at scale for the U.S. grid.”
Founded in 2023, Peak Energy is based in Burlingame, near San Francisco. It develops low-cost, giga-scale energy storage technology. Its founders include industry veterans from Tesla, Enovix, and Apple.
To learn more about Peak Energy, visit peakenergy.com.
