Energy Vault Holdings Inc. announced plans for the deployment of a 57 MW/114 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), about 87 miles southeast of Lubbock, in Scurry County, Texas, as well as the signing of a 10-year offtake agreement with Gridmatic, an AI-enabled power marketer.
Construction of the Cross Trails BESS is expected to begin in Q1 2025, with commercial operation expected by summer 2025.
The Cross Trails BESS, which will be built, owned and operated by Energy Vault, will provide energy and ancillary services to support renewable energy production and improve grid resiliency in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) region. In conjunction with the BESS deployment, Energy Vault’s 10-year offtake agreement with Gridmatic is expected to commence in Q2 2025.
This project marks another milestone in Energy Vault’s global buildout of energy storage infrastructure that follows recently announced projects in the U.S., Europe and Australia where the company will build, own and operate energy storage systems and microgrids under long term power purchase and tolling agreements. This U.S. project in the ERCOT market reflects the company’s strategy announced earlier this year to invest in financially attractive and long-term energy storage infrastructure projects where Energy Vault can leverage its expertise in designing, building and operating energy storage assets under the most efficient capital and operating expense profiles, supported by its project financing engagement recently announced with Jefferies. This strategy is being executed to maximize the impact of Energy Vault’s unique technology-agnostic approach to energy storage solution development, all enabled by its innovative Energy Management System (EMS) which is quickly becoming a leading asset management platform of choice in the industry. The in-depth analytics of Energy Vault’s EMS platform across all operating, safety, maintenance and dispatching functions maximizes asset availability, thereby enhancing the company's ability to capitalize organically and inorganically on emerging opportunities in the rapidly evolving energy storage market while delivering more predictable and more profitable recurring revenues for the systems that it operates.
The offtake agreement is the first physically settled revenue floor contract to be signed for a BESS in ERCOT. The agreement is backed by Gridmatic’s previously announced Energy Storage Fund, and will provide both Energy Vault and Gridmatic with the benefit of Gridmatic’s AI-based forecasts, which have delivered the top Day Ahead energy trading results in the ERCOT market. As part of the agreement, Gridmatic will also provide QSE services.
“We continue to execute rapidly and advance our strategy announced earlier this year in May to leverage our deep battery system and software expertise to efficiently build, own and operate energy storage assets,” said Robert Piconi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Energy Vault. “Owning energy storage infrastructure plays a critical role in our commitment to deliver long-term, sustainable shareholder value while allowing the company to more profitably and efficiently capitalize on the growing global demand for energy storage solutions. We are excited to partner with Gridmatic as a leading power marketer with proven storage offtake and optimization performance to hedge project cash flows and deliver reliable, safe and sustainable energy solutions that will benefit the ERCOT market.”
“Energy Vault’s proven expertise and ability to develop and deploy world-class, reliable, and cost-effective energy storage solutions make them a perfect partner for Gridmatic,” said Matt Wytock, Chief Executive Officer of Gridmatic. “This BESS will deliver increased grid reliability and affordability for Texas residents as load growth continues to accelerate. We look forward to a strong partnership with Energy Vault for years to come.”
The BESS system will be built with Energy Vault’s proprietary X-Vault integration platform using Energy Vault’s proprietary UL9540 certified B-VAULT™ product, and VaultOS Energy Management System to control, manage and optimize the BESS operations. Energy Vault’s innovative system architecture provides customer optionality with both battery and inverter suppliers, while unique AC-coupled and DC-coupled configurations provide the drop-in flexibility needed for any project.
To date, Energy Vault’s B-VAULT portfolio consists of more than 2 GWh in total projects deployed and under construction. Gridmatic has contracted to operate over 300 MW of battery storage projects across the ERCOT and CAISO markets.
