Form Energy’s breakthrough iron‑air batteries are set to transform power resilience for large, renewable-heavy facilities, highlighted by Xcel Energy’s plans for a industry‑leading 30 GWh installation in Minnesota supporting a Google data centre, potentially reshaping long‑duration energy storage barriers.
Form Energy’s iron‑air batteries are poised to reshape how large, always‑on facilities secure clean power, after Xcel Energy revealed plans to deploy a 300 megawatt, 30 gigawatt‑hour installation in Pine Island, Minnesota to support a new Google data centre. The facility will be able to discharge its full rated power for about 100 hours, a duration that far exceeds conventional lithium‑ion systems and is intended to bridge multiday shortfalls in renewable generation.
According to Xcel Energy, the Pine Island project is the largest battery system by energy capacity announced to date; when fully charged it will hold roughly 30 GWh and can supply power through extended periods of low wind or solar output. The utility emphasised that the addition of the iron‑air system, together with new wind and solar capacity funded by Google, is designed so the new data‑centre load does not raise costs for existing customers and that reliability will be preserved.
Under the commercial arrangement, Google will underwrite 1.4 gigawatts of wind and 200 megawatts of solar to feed the storage asset, enabling the battery to charge when renewable output exceeds demand and then dispatch for more than four days to meet a continuous data‑centre demand profile. TechCrunch and other industry reporting described the deal as an example of a “clean transition tariff” or similar structure in which a corporate buyer pays a premium to enable a utility to accept projects that might otherwise be judged risky by regulators, shielding general ratepayers from those added costs.
Form Energy has been advancing iron‑air chemistry for several years and is still completing its first commercial deployment for a utility customer. Mateo Jaramillo, the company’s CEO and co‑founder, said Xcel had followed the firm’s development closely: “Xcel in particular has been with us through every step of the journey , when the chemistry was in a very small bucket, essentially, to complete deployed systems,” Jaramillo said. “They saw the challenging things that we worked through. They saw us solve hard problems. They saw us come out the other side.”
The Pine Island contract follows earlier definitive agreements between Form and Xcel to test multi‑day iron‑air systems at retiring coal plant sites. Xcel has described two demonstration projects, a 10 MW/1,000 MWh installation at the Sherburne County Generating Station in Becker, Minnesota and a similar system planned for the Comanche site in Pueblo, Colorado, that received support from the U.S. Department of Energy and philanthropic backing from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst. Those demonstration units, intended as early commercial proofs, are designed to validate how long‑duration storage can replace retiring thermal capacity while allowing higher penetration of low‑cost wind and solar.
Industry observers say multi‑day storage addresses a core barrier to deep decarbonisation of power systems: the intermittency of wind and solar over days rather than hours. Long‑duration technologies like iron‑air aim to “firm” renewables at a lower capital cost per discharged hour than would be required using lithium‑ion at equivalent durations; Form manufactures its cells in West Virginia, according to reporting.
The Xcel–Google arrangement arrives amid broader debate about how hyperscale data‑centre operators should meet surging electricity demand from AI and other services. Some large tech firms have supported new fossil‑fired generation or shorter‑duration gas backups to guarantee capacity; by contrast, Xcel framed the Minnesota deal as a pathway for a major data centre to be served by renewables plus long‑duration storage without transferring extra costs to retail customers. Xcel’s public statement noted the centre will support widely used services including Workspace, Search, YouTube and Maps.
For utilities and industrial decarbonisation planners, the Pine Island announcement is significant on several fronts: it demonstrates customer willingness to underwrite novel long‑duration assets at scale; it binds new renewable build to multi‑day storage to meet baseload‑like loads; and it tests regulatory constructs intended to allocate commercial risk away from ratepayers. If the iron‑air systems perform as designed, they could provide an economic route to replace fossil thermal plants that currently provide multi‑day firming capacity, but their success will depend on timely project delivery, regulatory approval of cost‑recovery mechanisms and operational performance once scaled.
Xcel and Form are already progressing other iron‑air deployments and demonstration projects that will yield near‑term data on durability, round‑trip efficiency and lifecycle costs; those metrics will be watched closely by grid planners, corporate offtakers and regulators as the industry evaluates long‑duration storage as a mainstream tool in power‑sector decarbonisation.
- https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/batteries/gigantic-form-energy-battery-google-minnesota – Please view link – unable to able to access data
- https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/batteries/gigantic-form-energy-battery-google-minnesota – Form Energy has developed an innovative iron-air battery capable of storing clean energy for extended periods, surpassing the capabilities of traditional lithium-ion batteries. The company is currently constructing its first commercial project in Minnesota and has secured a significant follow-up project in the same state to support a Google data centre. Xcel Energy plans to install 300 megawatts of Form’s batteries in Pine Island, Minnesota. This substantial installation will provide energy for up to 100 hours continuously, ensuring a steady supply of clean energy during extended periods of low renewable production. The fully charged Pine Island Form plant will store 30 gigawatt-hours of energy, a remarkable capacity for the current grid infrastructure. This development demonstrates Form Energy’s commercial viability even before completing its first utility customer installation. Xcel Energy has been closely involved with Form Energy throughout its technological development, witnessing the company’s progress from early-stage chemistry to fully deployed systems. The partnership also exemplifies how major technology companies can power their data centres with clean energy without imposing additional costs on regular customers. Under the agreement, Google will fund the construction of 1.4 gigawatts of wind and 200 megawatts of solar energy. These renewable resources, while cost-effective, cannot consistently meet the 24/7 operational demands of a data centre. This is where Form’s batteries come into play: they can store excess renewable energy during periods of low demand and deliver it on-demand for over four days, ensuring a continuous power supply for the data centre.
- https://newsroom.xcelenergy.com/news/xcel-energy-to-power-new-google-data-center-in-minnesota – Xcel Energy has announced its plan to power a new Google data centre in Pine Island, Minnesota. This collaboration is expected to make a significant contribution to the state’s economy, including a substantial buildout of new clean energy projects that will support Minnesota’s clean energy goals while benefiting Xcel Energy’s existing customers. Data centres are essential infrastructure that powers various internet services. Xcel Energy has signed an agreement to supply power for the Google data centre, which will support core services such as Workspace, Search, YouTube, and Maps. Xcel Energy is committed to ensuring that new large loads do not increase costs for existing customers and that service remains reliable. The clean energy resources funded through the agreement include a 300 megawatt (30 gigawatt-hour) Form Energy iron-air battery system installation, the largest battery project by gigawatt-hour energy capacity announced to date in the world. This 100-hour battery system will store energy during periods of high production and low demand and dispatch it to the grid during times of high demand, providing firm capacity and strengthening grid reliability when it is needed most, even over multiple days.
- https://newsroom.xcelenergy.com/news/form-energy-partners-with-xcel-energy-on-two-multi-day-energy-storage-projects – Form Energy, an American technology company developing and commercialising a new class of cost-effective, multi-day energy storage systems, has entered into definitive agreements with Xcel Energy to deploy its iron-air battery systems at two of Xcel Energy’s retiring coal plant sites. The storage technology will allow Xcel Energy to integrate more low-cost, renewable energy into its system and maintain reliability as it retires the coal plants in the coming years and transitions to a highly renewable future. Xcel Energy–Minnesota will deploy a 10 MW / 1,000 MWh multi-day storage system at the Sherburne County Generating Station in Becker, Minnesota. Xcel Energy–Colorado will deploy a 10 MW / 1,000 MWh multi-day storage system at the Comanche Generating Station in Pueblo, Colorado. Both projects are expected to come online as early as 2025 and are subject to regulatory approvals in their respective states.
- https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/24/googles-new-1-9gw-clean-energy-deal-includes-massive-100-hour-battery/ – Google has announced plans to build a data centre in Minnesota, supported by 1.9 gigawatts of clean power, including a massive 300-megawatt battery made by startup Form Energy. The new data centre, Google’s first in Minnesota, will be located in Pine Island, about an hour southeast of Minneapolis. The tech company is working with Xcel Energy to build 1.4 gigawatts of wind power and 200 megawatts of solar power. Both will feed Form’s battery, which will be capable of delivering its rated power for 100 hours. At 30 gigawatt-hours, it will be the largest battery in the world, helping the data centre operate on clean energy for longer periods of time. Such long-duration batteries help renewable energy sources continue to provide power at night or during lulls, “firming” the power source, as experts call it. The new project also introduces a utility fee structure to Minnesota that is intended to help utilities adopt clean technologies without running afoul of their regulators, who push utilities to use the cheapest source of electricity. Google first developed the concept in Nevada, where it’s buying power from enhanced geothermal startup Fervo. Alternately called the “clean transition tariff” or the “clean energy accelerator charge,” the agreement between Google and Xcel allows the utility to accept projects that might be considered risky by regulators, with the tech company paying a premium to ensure that regular ratepayers aren’t left holding the bag. Solar and wind are both proven technologies, but Form’s iron-air batteries are still relatively new. The startup’s first battery is currently being installed in Minnesota with cooperative utility Great River Energy, and it will store 150 megawatt-hours for 100 hours, sending 1.5 megawatts to the grid at its peak. Form manufactures its batteries at a factory in West Virginia.
- https://investors.xcelenergy.com/news-events/news-releases/news-details/2023/Department-of-Energy-Awards-Xcel-Energy-up-to-70-Million-for-Long-Duration-Energy-Storage/default.aspx – Xcel Energy announced that it has received a grant of up to $70 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The award will partially fund two long-duration energy storage systems in Minnesota and Colorado. Each demonstration-scale system will be a 10 megawatt/1,000 megawatt-hour iron-air battery developed by Massachusetts-based Form Energy. The batteries will be located at the sites of two retiring Xcel Energy coal plants: the Sherburne County Generating Station in Becker, Minnesota, and the Comanche Generating Station in Pueblo, Colorado. Once operational, the systems will allow Xcel Energy to store renewable energy such as solar and wind when it is being produced and then later distribute the energy during periods of lower renewable production. Construction of the battery system in Minnesota — to be located near one of the largest solar developments in the U.S., the upcoming 710 megawatt Sherco Solar installation — will start in the second quarter of 2024. Pending approval from the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, work on the Colorado battery system could begin in late 2024. The projects are expected to support 15 to 20 construction jobs in each state.
- https://newsroom.xcelenergy.com/news/xcel-energy-receives-20-million-grant-commitment-from-breakthrough-energy-catalyst-for-iron-air-multi-day-battery-storage – Xcel Energy announced that Breakthrough Energy Catalyst has agreed to commit $20 million in grant funding to support two multi-day energy storage projects designed to maximise the use of renewable energy while maintaining the reliability of the grid. The grant would provide $10 million each for two 10 MW/1,000 MWh iron-air battery systems, subject to the satisfaction of certain funding conditions. Xcel Energy and Massachusetts-based Form Energy announced in January an agreement to construct the batteries at the sites of retiring coal plants: the Sherburne County Generating Station in Becker, Minnesota, and the Comanche Generating Station in Pueblo, Colorado. The batteries will allow Xcel Energy to store renewable energy such as solar and wind when it is being produced and then later distribute the energy during periods of lower production.
Noah Fact Check Pro
The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first
emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed
below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may
warrant further investigation.
Freshness check
Score:
10
Notes:
The article is based on recent announcements from Google, Xcel Energy, and Form Energy, all dated February 24, 2026. ([blog.google](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/infrastructure-and-cloud/global-network/data-center-pine-island/?utm_source=openai)) No earlier versions of this specific narrative were found, indicating high freshness.
Quotes check
Score:
8
Notes:
Direct quotes from Form Energy’s CEO, Mateo Jaramillo, are included. While these quotes are consistent across multiple sources, they originate from the company’s official statements. The lack of independent verification of these quotes raises some concerns.
Source reliability
Score:
7
Notes:
The article references reputable sources such as Google’s official blog and Xcel Energy’s newsroom. However, the reliance on press releases and official statements from the involved companies introduces potential biases. The absence of independent journalistic coverage or third-party analysis is a notable concern.
Plausibility check
Score:
9
Notes:
The claims about the deployment of a 300-megawatt iron-air battery system by Form Energy to support Google’s data centre in Minnesota are plausible and align with the companies’ stated objectives. The technical details about the battery’s capacity and duration are consistent with known capabilities of Form Energy’s technology.
Overall assessment
Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): FAIL
Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): MEDIUM
Summary:
While the article presents plausible and timely information about the deployment of Form Energy’s iron-air battery system to support Google’s data centre in Minnesota, the heavy reliance on press releases and official statements from the involved companies without independent verification introduces potential biases and raises concerns about the objectivity and accuracy of the information. The absence of independent journalistic coverage or third-party analysis further diminishes the reliability of the content. Therefore, the article does not meet the necessary standards for publication under our editorial indemnity.
