Meta and Palo Alto-based Noon Energy have reached a reservation agreement for up to 1 GW / 100 GWh of energy storage capacity, targeting the use of ultra-long-duration energy storage for AI infrastructure. The collaboration is expected to kick off with a 25 MW / 2.5 GWh pilot project scheduled for completion by 2028.
Following the commissioning of the initial site, Noon is expected to begin delivering systems under a 100 GWh supply contract. The move comes as hyperscale data centers face pressure to maintain reliability while integrating intermittent renewable sources.
As data centers evolve to meet the demands of AI, the industry is looking beyond the 4-hour window typically served by lithium-ion batteries. Noon Energy’s technology, which recently demonstrated more than 100 hours of capacity in a fully containerized pilot, utilizes a reversible solid oxide fuel cell.
The system stores energy in carbon-based media, allowing for multi-day storage. Because the energy and power capacities scale independently through the addition of storage tanks, the technology is intended for the energy requirements of large-scale data center footprints.
Chris Graves, co-founder and CEO of Noon Energy, said data centers represent a primary application for the Noon battery system and indicated the company is expected to work toward building production capacity and an ultra-LDES supply chain.
A factor in the deal is the system’s reliance on abundant elements like carbon and oxygen rather than scarce metals. Noon’s solution uses approximately 1% of the critical materials found in traditional lithium-ion batteries, which is expected to offer a hedge against price volatility associated with the lithium supply chain.
For Meta, the 100-plus hour duration is intended to provide a level of grid resilience that short-duration systems cannot match. Nat Sahlstrom, VP of Energy and Sustainability at Meta, said that bringing data centers online requires the deployment of reliable energy sources and that the agreement involves a storage technology that delivers firm power.
Development of the initial project phase is expected to begin immediately, following Noon’s previous work where the company demonstrated a 100-hour ultra-long-duration energy storage system. Noon Energy has previously raised over $45 million from investors and has received support from the California Energy Commission.
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