Quidnet Energy develops Geomechanical Pumped Storage (GPS) technology that stores excess renewable energy by pressurizing water underground and later using it to drive hydroelectric turbines. The company leverages existing drilling and hydropower machinery supply chains to deploy pumped-storage capabilities without requiring mountainous terrain or large land footprints. Quidnet says its approach can deliver long-duration storage at a fraction of the cost of lithium‑ion batteries. The ARPA-E award will support a project with San Antonio-based CPS Energy to scale GPS from pilot to a 1 MW/10 MWh commercial system delivering 10+ hours of storage. That demonstration is intended to advance commercialization and support CPS Energy’s plan to reduce net emissions by 80% by 2040. Quidnet positions GPS as an implementable long‑duration storage solution to accelerate the energy transition. Quidnet Energy develops long-duration electricity storage by leveraging subsurface geologic principles to store and dispatch energy at commercial scale. The company positions its technology as an alternative to traditional pumped hydro, aiming to overcome siting and cost limitations. Quidnet will use recent funding to grow its team and scale operations to deliver commercial-scale projects across the U.S. electric grid. It announced a contract with the New York State Energy Development Authority (NYSERDA) to develop and demonstrate its technology in New York. Investors and supporters highlight the company’s potential to scale rapidly based on long-understood geologic principles. Leadership frames the technology as critical to integrating renewables and replacing retiring thermal generation. Quidnet Energy is developing ultra-low-cost, grid-scale energy storage that uses pressurized water within natural geologic formations to store electricity. The company has designed its approach for breakthrough low cost that could undercut peaking natural gas generation. Quidnet positions its technology as a way to store very large capacities of solar and wind energy for use when generation is unavailable. Co-founder and Chairman Aaron Mandell described the effort as a high-risk experiment with potentially transformative benefits. In the first close of its seed round, Quidnet received financing facilitated by PRIME Coalition in multiple forms, reflecting early-stage philanthropic support. PRIME and its network aim to bridge the funding gap between pre-commercial grants and traditional venture capital for energy innovators.

Total raised

$20M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Nov 2022