First long-duration Iron-Air Battery connected to grid in the Netherlands

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1. #Ore Energy Makes History With First Grid-Connected Iron-Air Battery System

   *‘Rust Battery’ Now Operational in The Netherlands; First Multi-Day Long-Duration Energy Storage System Designed to Use a Fully European Build*

   AMSTERDAM, July 30, 2025 (Newswire.com) – Ore Energy, the Netherlands-based iron-air long-duration energy storage startup, today announced that it has successfully connected its flagship iron-air battery system to the electric grid in the city of Delft – the first known iron-air system to be grid-connected and fully operational in the world. The pilot system is also the first multi-day long-duration energy storage (LDES) to be entirely designed, built, and installed within the European Union using materials that can be sourced exclusively within Europe. The first-of-its-kind deployment represents a significant technological milestone in long-duration energy storage and marks a defining moment in European energy sovereignty and resilience.

   Ore Energy’s pilot system – which uses iron, air, and water to store clean energy for up to 100 hours – was deployed at The Green Village, a testing ground for next-generation climate and energy innovations located at The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft). The system charges by using electricity to convert iron oxides (such as rust) back into metallic iron. During discharge, the metallic iron reacts with oxygen from the air to form iron oxides again, releasing electrical energy in the process. The installation is now collecting real-world operational data and will serve as a testbed for multi-day energy shifting, which is a key milestone on the way to full renewable grid integration. Ore Energy’s full-scale system will use modular 40-foot containers, each delivering multiple MWh of multi-day energy storage, optimized for low-cost, low-footprint deployment.

   “This achievement is proof that Europe can lead the world in energy innovation and energy resilience. We’ve shown that breakthrough solutions like iron-air can move from lab to grid in just two years and can be built entirely with a European supply chain,” said Aytaç Yilmaz, co-founder and CEO at Ore Energy. “Our battery doesn’t just store clean energy, it solves three of the grid’s biggest problems: it slashes curtailment, replaces fossil backup, and reduces the need to overbuild wind and solar. Long-duration storage like ours is what makes renewable power reliable, affordable, and sovereign. And now it’s ready.”

   “The Green Village exists to bring bold ideas out of the lab and into the real world. Ore Energy’s iron-air battery is exactly that kind of breakthrough,” said Lidewij van Trigt, Energy Transition Project Manager at The Green Village. “Connecting the first grid-ready iron-air system here in Delft shows what’s possible when research, regulation, and industry align. We’re proud to provide a proving ground for technologies that will shape the future of Europe’s energy system.”

2. Exciting news. We need this especially to avoid building new pumped-hydro.

3. As it says, this is a pilot so it’s hard to get solid numbers, but if this is cost-effective it should absolutely replace lithium-ion (and probably LFP) for static storage. And it certainly seems like it should be, the materials are common, inexpensive, and non-toxic.

   LFP or sodium batteries might still have a use where space is a premium or if this tech can’t scale down well below a certain size.

4. roundtrip efficiency?

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