US energy storage manufacturer ESS Tech, Inc. has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with renewable energy developer Juniper Energy LLC covering the potential deployment of 500 MWh or more of sodium-ion battery energy storage systems.
The agreement marks a significant step in ESS’s expansion of its non-lithium energy storage business and establishes a framework for a long-term partnership covering multiple projects over the coming years.
The companies plan to begin with a 10 MW / 80 MWh energy storage project in California. The project is expected to use ESS’s recently announced modular sodium-ion AC solution, Bridge™, together with an ESS Energy Management System (EMS). Commercial operation is targeted for 2027.
“This agreement with Juniper Energy validates ESS’s strategy to expand our technology portfolio and bring sodium-ion energy storage to market,” said Drew Buckley, CEO of ESS. “The planned deployment and long-term procurement framework reflect the accelerating customer demand we are seeing for safer, domestically sourced alternatives to conventional lithium-ion batteries.”
Subject to successful project execution and future development, Juniper Energy intends to procure at least 500 MWh of ESS battery energy storage systems by 2032.
“Juniper Energy is focused on partnering with companies that can successfully bring innovative energy technologies from development into commercial operation,” said Keith McDaniels, Managing Partner of Juniper Energy. “ESS has demonstrated its ability to integrate, deploy, and scale advanced energy storage solutions, giving us confidence in its ability to execute on next-generation sodium-ion technology. We look forward to working together to validate the ESS Bridge energy storage platform and support its broader adoption across future energy storage projects.”
ESS said growing demand for domestically sourced, non-lithium storage is creating opportunities across utility-scale projects, AI data centres, commercial and industrial facilities and critical infrastructure.
Its sodium-ion technology uses abundant materials and is designed to reduce exposure to geopolitical supply chain risks and Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) restrictions while supporting domestic energy infrastructure development.
Image: Applied medical install. Credit: ESS.
