MGA Thermal is thrilled to announce they have been awarded funding by global energy provider Shell.

The funding, approximately US$400K (AUD$560K), provided under Shell GameChanger, is to accelerate the completion of the MGA Thermal Energy Storage pilot. Located at MGA Thermal’s new commercial manufacturing facility in Newcastle, Australia, the pilot aims to gather valuable data amid the growing and urgent need for new longer-duration energy storage (LDES) solutions to replace ageing or increasingly expensive thermal and other conventional power stations.

The MGA Thermal Energy Storage pilot will demonstrate the firmed steam generation from stored intermittent renewable energy and has an expected total budget of approximately AUD$3 million. The pilot will be located at the company’s head office in Tomago, NSW and has a planned storage capacity of 5 MWh, with charging and discharging at up to 500 kW for 10 hours. The pilot unit, approximately 12m long and 3m wide, will produce valuable performance data and provide a tangible demonstration of the technology for prospective industrial and power customers. Data gathered will cover the charging and discharging behaviour, fluid dynamics and temperature distributions, and validate the efficacy of mid-to-long-term thermal storage in a practical system.

“MGA Thermal was selected from a pool of dozens of quality applicants to a long-duration energy storage call for solutions,” said Matt McDonald, from Shell GameChanger. “I am excited that Shell can support MGA Thermal’s pilot project and their ambitions to enable the storage of renewable energy. We look forward to seeing their progress and to continue lending Shell support and expertise.”

Mark Croudace, CCO of MGA Thermal said, “We are very pleased to have Shell’s recognition and support for the MGA Thermal technology and pilot. Our technology is attractive for those looking to decarbonise, with a high potential impact in the medium to long-duration energy storage sector. Shell’s funding, in conjunction with ARENA, allows us to accelerate our pilot, going live in 2023, gather additional data about our technology, and continue our rapid growth into commercial industrial and power markets.”