New storage technology aims to make electricity markets more reliable
Post-doctoral researcher Casey Bloomquist hopes to take his tech to market
Solar and wind power are essential tools for rapidly increasing our energy supply and are capable of dramatically reducing emissions from electricity generation. But they're not a silver bullet. Unlike traditional power plants that run continuously and adjust output on demand, renewable sources are inherently intermittent — their power generation rises and falls with weather patterns and seasons beyond our control.
This variability creates a critical bottleneck: without effective energy storage solutions, solar and wind power can affect the reliability of the electricity supply. It's a challenge that postdoctoral researcher Casey Bloomquist is tackling head-on at NYU Tandon.
Building on work from the lab of Miguel Modestino, director of Tandon's Sustainable Engineering Initiative, Bloomquist is developing a novel storage system designed to solve what experts call the "long-duration energy storage" (LDES) problem — how to store energy efficiently and affordably for extended periods.
His approach centers on hydrogen, which is increasingly produced through electrolysis: using electricity to split water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen gas. That hydrogen can later be used as clean fuel to generate energy, releasing only water vapor. But there's a catch. The polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzers commonly used struggle with intermittent power sources, suffering from gas crossover issues that compromise efficiency and safety. Meanwhile, existing storage technologies like lithium-ion batteries work well for short bursts but fall short for the extended storage renewable grids require.
Bloomquist's solution is a hybrid system that simultaneously produces hydrogen and stores energy. Using cerium-based compounds, his design features two subsystems: one that stores energy as hydrogen through a two-step, redox-mediated water-splitting process, and another that generates electricity on demand using a fuel cell.
The work is still in its early stages, and Bloomquist is currently working to optimize the chemistry and operation conditions for high performance — building on earlier fundamental work — and to scale up the system. He’s also conducting customer discovery and market research to refine the value proposition. Thanks to a Technology Acceleration & Commercialization (TAC) Award from NYU, he has the resources to do so.
"The TAC award will help us determine whether this idea can scale up and reach the market," Bloomquist explains. Using the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) framework, he estimates the project is at level 2 to 3—basic research completed, practical applications identified. "We're pushing toward level 4 or 5, where we'll have a validated prototype,” he predicts. “We think AI data centers could be early adopters, since they consume massive amounts of energy while dealing with volatile electricity pricing and supply."
Bloomquist isn't new to the process of commercialization. As a graduate student, he helped launch Heliotrope, a company focused on improving solar panel performance. That experience taught him to navigate NYU's entrepreneurial ecosystem — knowledge he's applying to this venture.
"Starting a technology venture feels a lot like starting graduate school,” he says. “Initially, there are many unknowns and the feeling that nothing is working. But the learning curve is real, and these challenges are not insurmountable. I kept working through my doctoral program and eventually saw progress, and I'm betting this will be the same."
