Ore Energy, a Dutch startup specializing in long-duration iron-air energy storage, has announced a global first: the successful connection of its flagship iron-air battery to the Delft power grid. This marks the world’s first operational iron-air system integrated into a power grid. It also represents the first multi-day long-duration energy storage (LDES) project fully designed, manufactured, and deployed within the European Union, using only materials sourced in Europe. The achievement underscores a major technological advance in long-term energy storage and a decisive step toward European energy independence and resilience.
“Rust battery” launches in the Netherlands — Europe’s first multi-day LDES system built entirely from European resources
The pilot system, installed at The Green Village—a living lab for climate and energy innovation at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)—stores clean energy for up to 100 hours using only iron, air, and water. The process involves charging the system by converting rust (iron oxides) back into metallic iron with electricity; discharging reverses the reaction, as iron re-oxidizes and releases energy. The facility is now gathering real-world performance data and will serve as a testing platform for multi-day energy shifting, a critical step toward fully renewable energy grids.
Ore Energy’s modular design uses 12-meter containers, each capable of delivering several megawatt-hours of storage in a compact, low-cost format.
With Europe frequently forced to waste excess renewable power due to insufficient storage, Ore Energy’s 100-hour battery offers a solution: capturing surplus energy over multiple days, reducing curtailment by up to 44% in modeled scenarios, and potentially saving billions on the continent’s energy costs.
"This achievement proves that Europe can lead the world in energy innovation and energy power. We have shown that breakthrough solutions like iron-air can be taken from the laboratory to the power grid in just two years and built entirely with a European supply chain," said Aytaç Yilmaz, co-founder and CEO of Ore Energy. "Our battery not only stores clean energy, it also solves three of the biggest problems of the power grid: it reduces renewable energy switching, replaces fossil backup and reduces the need to overbuild wind and solar power. Long-term storage like ours makes renewable energy reliable, affordable and sovereign. And now it's ready."
"The Green Village wants to bring bold ideas from the lab to the real world. Ore Energy's iron-air battery is just such a breakthrough," said Lidewij van Trigt, energy transition project manager at The Green Village. "The connection of the first grid-ready iron-air system here in Delft shows what is possible when research, regulation and industry are aligned. We are proud to provide a testing ground for technologies that will shape the future of Europe's energy system."
Source: energystoragenl.nl