March 3, 2026
Manufacturer of long-term energy storage systems (LDES). ESS Tech Inc. has announced what it calls “a collaborative framework.” Salt River Project (SRP) And Googlingto provide LDES solutions for a pilot program known as Project New Horizon.
Project New Horizon, located in Florence, Arizona, is part of SRP’s Copper Crossing project and will provide 5 MW (or 50 MWh) to the Grand Canyon State energy grid. The project will deploy ESS Tech’s iron flow utility scale Energy Base storage technologyand “represents a significant commercial validation milestone” for the company’s technology, platform and products.
This pilot version of the program is expected to support current evaluation of SRP of non-lithium LDES solutions, ESS Tech says. If successful, the pilot could help unlock further opportunities for the company as it looks to expand commercially.
“This phase of Project New Horizon represents an important commercial validation of Energy Base and a clear signal that utilities are actively pursuing scalable, non-lithium long-term storage as part of long-term resource planning,” said Drew Buckley, CEO of ESS Tech. “The partnership with SRP, along with Google’s participation and cost sharing, reinforces the relevance of long-term storage for grid reliability and for large energy users moving toward carbon-free energy. Successful execution can serve as a blueprint for broader deployments and meaningful follow-on opportunities.”
Scaling up long-term energy storage solutions
ESS Tech’s Energy Base technology is designed for scalability to utility-scale solutions and enables “flexible configuration for diverse use cases.” This practice differentiates the technology from other LDES solutions, the company says, and is expected to deliver cost-efficiency benefits as it scales to larger projects.
As part of the program, SRP will collaborate with the Electrical Energy Research Institute (EPRI) to support product testing, company representatives say.
“Project New Horizon is part of SRP’s efforts to evaluate the impact of sustainable energy storage technologies that could ultimately support SRP’s mission of providing reliable, affordable and sustainable energy,” said Chico Hunter, innovation and development manager at SRP. “We look forward to working with ESS, Google and EPRI to assess performance in real-world conditions and advance our understanding of how long-term storage can meet future system needs.”
Google is already participating in several energy storage projects, including the Copper Crossing energy storage center. The tech giant will finance part of the project payments through an existing cost-sharing agreement with the company.
The collaboration between Google and SRP is intended to test the effectiveness of non-lithium LDES solutions in the real world, the companies say, and “generate experiences relevant to grid reliability, sustainable integration, and broader LDES deployment paths.”
“Long-term energy storage is needed to improve the resilience of the power grid and unlock clean energy 24 hours a day,” said Lucia Tian, head of advanced energy technologies at Google. “This collaboration with SRP is intended to accelerate learning and innovation in real-world deployment of a portfolio of emerging long-life energy storage technologies, including this first pilot with ESS. We are excited to work with a utility partner that shares our commitment to supporting a range of technologies and diverse supply chains that can bring reliable, affordable and clean energy to Arizona and the rest of the United States.”
According to ESS Tech officials, production of Project New Horizon’s LDES pilot program will begin sometime this year, with full delivery expected by the end of 2027. Design of the product’s infrastructure is already underway.
Tags: ESS Tech Inc., Google, Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES), project, Salt River Project, utility scale
