The Washington & Jefferson College Center for Energy Policy and Management will host a free Feb. 5 webinar on how Form Energy is ramping up production of its innovative iron-air, long-term storage batteries at a new plant built on the site of the former Weirton Steel mill.

“Rust: A Modern Solution for Grid-Scale Battery Storage” will be the subject of a free, hour-long webinar at 11:00 a.m. Feb 5.

It will be presented by Diana McMillan, a senior engineering manager with Form Energy, as part of CEPM's Energy Lecture Series.

With increasing amounts of renewable energy being added to the grid, new technologies capable of storing electricity for days are needed to ensure reliability and affordability when power cannot be generated.

Form Energy has reinvented existing technology to create an iron-air battery that reacts with oxygen to store and release energy for the electric grid.

The system components are some of the safest, cheapest, and most abundant materials on the planet - iron, water, and air. 

The batteries can store electricity for 100 hours at system costs competitive with legacy power plants.

Form Energy, based in Massachusetts, completed construction of its first high-volume battery manufacturing facility, Form Factory 1, in Weirton, W.Va., in mid-2024.

It is ramping up production and soon plans to begin shipping iron-air batteries to customers.

After a planned expansion it will have more than 1 million square feet of manufacturing space, employ over 750 people, and have an annual production capacity of 500 megawatts of batteries.

Diana McMillan is a senior engineering manager and operations leader at Form Energy, bringing over a decade of industry expertise as a process and operations engineer.

With a career dedicated to ensuring safe, high-quality, and cost-effective production, Diana now leads a team focused on pioneering multi-day energy storage solutions.

She will explain the need for long-term storage to ensure a reliable grid and Form Energy’s technology, and provide insight into the company’s Weirton operations and future plans.

The webinar is free and open to the public. Click Here to register.

The seminar is approved for Continuing Legal Education in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. Contact the Washington County Bar Association at wcba@washcobar.org for information.

Click Here for webinar announcement.

Visit the Washington & Jefferson College Center for Energy Policy and Management webpage to learn more about programs, initiatives and upcoming events.

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - January 18 to 24: DEP Issues Abandoned Well Plugging Order; Well Leaks Gas For 9 Months [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - January 25 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 90 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In January 25 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]

Related Articles:

-- Senate Environmental Committee Meets Jan. 27 On Establishing An Independent Energy Office, Eliminate Carbon Pollution Reduction Program Covering Power Plants   [PaEN]

-- PA Senate Republicans Reintroduce Bills To Eliminate State Appeals Of Pipeline Permits; Limit Grounds For Appeal Of Any DEP Permits; Punish Communities For Protecting Their Constituents Against Shale Gas Drilling Impacts  [PaEN]

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Oil & Gas Companies Need Greater Incentives To Plug Their Old Wells - Raise Bond Rates Upfront For Plugging  [PaEN]

-- Dept. Of Health, Penn State Project ECHO Host Feb. 13 Webinar On Caring For Persons Living And Working In Communities Involved In Oil & Natural Gas Extraction  [PaEN]

-- EQB Invites Comments On Corrections To RACT Air Quality Regulations That May Affect Natural Gas-Fired Power Plants; 3 Hearings Set  [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approved 310 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use General Permits In 2024  [PaEN]

-- PJM Interconnection: Extreme Cold Produces PJM Record For Winter Electricity Demand; Maximum Generation Alert Remains In Effect Into Thursday  [PaEN]

-- New Federal Administration Reverses LNG Gas Export Facility Permit Pause, Extends Comment Period On LNG Impact Study  [PaEN]

-- New Federal Administration Issues Executive Order Declaring A National Energy Emergency; Order Repealing Other Energy, Climate Orders; Regulatory Freeze  [PaEN]

NewsClips:

-- Financial Times: Wall Street Will Stymie President’s US Oil, Gas Surge Plan, Say Shale Bosses; Lower Prices Will Not Make Companies ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’

-- Post-Gazette: New Administration Reverses Pause On New LNG Gas Export Project Permits [Helps Pave Way For Potential LNG Terminal In Philadelphia]

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Billions Have Been Allocated To PA From Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure, Inflation Reduction Acts, New Administration Ordered Halt To Disbursements  [Water Infrastructure, Mine Reclamation, Conventional Oil & Gas Well Plugging, $396 million in RISE PA decarbonization funding]

-- CanaryMedia.com: Executive Order Freezes Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act Funding For 90 Day Review [Water Infrastructure, Mine Reclamation, Conventional Oil & Gas Well Plugging, $396 million in RISE PA decarbonization funding]

-- Warren Times/AP: President Pivots To Pro-Oil And Gas Policies, But Likes Renewable Geothermal

-- Observer-Reporter: ARCH2 Hydrogen Hub Discussed At Washington & Jefferson College Public Outreach Session

[Posted: January 20, 2025]

1/27/2025