Quidnet Energy is Scaling Long-Duration Energy Storage for a Resilient Grid
Photo credit: Quidnet Energy
Unlocking Reliable, Grid-Scale Energy Storage
As global electricity demand surges—driven by industrial electrification, AI data centers, and extreme weather events—the need for long-duration energy storage has never been greater. Enter Quidnet Energy, a pioneer in Geomechanical Energy Storage (GES), a breakthrough technology that stores energy underground, enabling cost-effective, long-term power storage at scale.
Now, with the successful demonstration and testing of its GES system at MWh-scale, Quidnet has reached a pivotal milestone in proving that its solution is ready for commercial deployment. This achievement comes at a critical moment, as grids worldwide seek stable, dispatchable storage to support the transition to clean and reliable energy.
“One of the biggest challenges in decarbonizing the grid is going to be about maintaining reliability in balancing the grid, and we’re already seeing that manifest financially and physically across the country So there’s really no path to deep decarbonization of the grid without just an immense amount of long duration energy storage to inventory, to buffer, and to balance this trillion-dollar machine.” - Joe Zhou, CEO of Quidnet in an EY podcast interview
Photo credit: Quidnet Energy
An Innovative Approach to Long-Duration Storage
The original vision for Quidnet was simple but bold: What if we could repurpose natural underground formations to store energy as high-pressure water?
Unlike conventional batteries that rely on expensive and supply-constrained materials like lithium, Quidnet’s GES technology taps into widely available geologic formations. The system functions like a closed-loop hydroelectric battery, using existing drilling techniques and standardized hydro-mechanical components to store and release energy.
Quidnet Energy CEO, Joe Zhou
By leveraging mature supply chains and abundant natural resources, Quidnet has created a cost-effective, scalable solution that can be deployed in locations where traditional pumped hydro storage isn’t feasible.
Joe Zhou, Quidnet’s CEO, spent his entire career in the energy sector and led the business development team at a battery storage company prior to joining. He was led to Quidnet after spending a year looking for technologies that would solve the current problems we face around achieving grid storage at scale.
As Joe explains in his EY podcast interview, “About a trillion dollars of long duration storage needs to be built, and so what Quidnet does is we make that next trillion dollars of storage possible….just like pumped hydro, we also store energy in the form of high pressure water, but unlike pumped hydro, instead of pumping the water to the top of the mountain, we apply oil and gas techniques to effectively put the weight of the mountain on top of the water. We store energy in the form of high pressure water, but just under ground.”
How Catalytic Capital Propelled Quidnet Forward
Photo credit: Quidnet Energy
Quidnet’s journey wasn’t without challenges. When founders Howard Schmidt and Aaron Mandell first sought funding in 2013, they hit a wall.
Their technology was too unconventional for traditional investors—it wasn’t a battery that could be developed in a lab, and the energy market was still recovering from the Clean Energy 1.0 investment freeze.
That’s when Prime Coalition stepped in. As a founding investor, Prime provided early catalytic capital to fund Quidnet’s first field tests, helping the company generate critical data to prove its technology’s potential.
Beyond funding, Prime also introduced Quidnet to key investors like the Grantham Foundation and Breakthrough Energy, helping to turn cold outreach into warm, trust-built connections. This early validation helped unlock additional financing and set Quidnet on a path toward commercialization. “Without Prime, we would not be here.” – Joe Zhou, CEO, Quidnet Energy
Scaling Up: A Major Milestone and the Road Ahead
Quidnet’s latest milestone was the successful demonstration of its GES technology at the MWh-scale, marking a significant turning point for long-duration energy storage.
At its Greater Houston test site, Quidnet:
Completed full-scale testing of its GES system, demonstrating its ability to store and dispatch energy efficiently.
Ran durability assessments, showing the system maintains performance over time with minimal energy loss.
Met key reliability and efficiency benchmarks, reinforcing the technology’s readiness for commercial deployment.
This milestone also strengthens Quidnet’s strategic 300 MW partnership with Hunt Energy Network, following their $10 million investment announced in 2024.
“These tests confirm that our storage technology is ready for commercial deployments just as electrical grids grapple with the rapid rise in load growth from industrial electrification and AI data centers.” – Joe Zhou, CEO, Quidnet Energy quoted in their press release about their recent demonstration.
Texas, where Quidnet conducted its field tests, is projected to see one of the highest electricity demand increases in the coming years. With data centers, electric vehicles, and extreme weather all driving demand for stable, long-duration storage, Quidnet’s technology is positioned to be a game-changer.
The Future of Energy Storage—and the Role of Philanthropy
Energy storage solutions like Quidnet need the startup capital to prove their technology and the right capital to bridge the gap from demonstration to commercial deployment.
Quidnet’s journey underscores the critical role of catalytic capital in scaling breakthrough technologies. Philanthropic investors have a unique opportunity to accelerate the adoption of long-duration energy storage, ensuring the grid can support a reliable, decarbonized future.
To learn more about how you can enable climate solutions like Quidnet, contact Dave Kinahan, Prime’s Director of Partnerships, at dave.kinahan@primecoalition.org.
