Report on the Google and Energy Dome Partnership for Long-Duration Energy Storage and its Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals

1.0 Executive Summary

This report analyzes the strategic partnership between Google and energy storage startup Energy Dome. The collaboration, which includes a strategic investment by Google, focuses on the global deployment of Energy Dome’s long-duration energy storage (LDES) technology. The initiative is critically aligned with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), primarily addressing the challenges of achieving a 24/7 carbon-free energy supply. The partnership aims to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy sources by ensuring grid stability and continuous power availability, thereby making significant contributions to SDG 7, SDG 9, SDG 11, SDG 13, and SDG 17.

2.0 Partnership and Technology Overview

The collaboration represents a significant step in operationalizing large-scale, sustainable energy solutions.

• Parties Involved: Google and Milan-based startup Energy Dome.
• Core Technology: Energy Dome’s CO2 Battery, which utilizes a closed-loop thermodynamic process with carbon dioxide as the working fluid to store and dispatch energy.
• Technological Advantage: The system provides up to 24 hours of continuous energy dispatch, overcoming the short-term limitations of conventional battery technologies like lithium-ion.
• Strategic Objective: To support Google’s goal of operating on 100% carbon-free energy (CFE) by 2030 and to scale the LDES solution globally.

3.0 Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The partnership’s objectives and technological focus directly support the advancement of key SDGs.

3.1 SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

The project is fundamentally aimed at ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.

1. Increasing Renewable Energy Share (Target 7.2): By solving the intermittency problem of solar and wind power, the CO2 Battery makes these renewable sources dispatchable and reliable, facilitating their wider integration into the energy mix.
2. Expanding Sustainable Energy Infrastructure (Target 7.b): The global deployment of this LDES technology in Europe, America, and the Asia-Pacific represents a direct investment in upgrading and expanding infrastructure for sustainable energy services.
3. Ensuring 24/7 Reliability: The technology enables a consistent, round-the-clock supply of clean energy, which is essential for modern economies and for meeting growing demand from sectors like transport electrification and AI computing.

3.2 SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

The initiative promotes inclusive and sustainable industrialization by fostering innovation and building resilient infrastructure.

• Fostering Innovation (Target 9.5): Google’s investment and commercial support for Energy Dome’s novel CO2 Battery technology enhances scientific research and upgrades technological capabilities in the energy sector.
• Building Resilient Infrastructure (Target 9.4): The deployment of LDES systems strengthens the resilience of electricity grids, making them better equipped to handle the variable nature of renewable energy sources and prevent energy waste.

3.3 SDG 13: Climate Action & SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

The core mission of achieving a carbon-free energy supply is a direct measure to combat climate change and build sustainable communities.

1. Integrating Climate Change Measures (Target 13.2): Google’s 24/7 CFE goal, enabled by this partnership, is a corporate strategy that directly integrates climate action into its operations, setting a precedent for the industry.
2. Supporting Sustainable Communities (Target 11.b): By helping to stabilize power grids and increase access to reliable, clean electricity, the technology supports the development of resilient and sustainable cities that can better adapt to climate change.

3.4 SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

The collaboration model itself exemplifies the spirit of SDG 17, which encourages partnerships to achieve sustainable development.

• Multi-Stakeholder Partnership (Target 17.17): The agreement between a global technology leader (Google) and an innovative startup (Energy Dome) is a prime example of a private-sector partnership driving progress on the SDGs.
• Mobilizing Technology and Finance: The partnership combines financial investment, technological expertise, and commercial deployment channels to accelerate the scaling of a critical climate solution at a lower cost.

4.0 Conclusion

The strategic alliance between Google and Energy Dome is more than a commercial agreement; it is a targeted initiative with profound implications for the global energy transition. By focusing on a scalable and technologically proven LDES solution, the partnership provides a viable pathway to achieving 24/7 carbon-free energy. Its alignment with SDGs 7, 9, 11, 13, and 17 demonstrates a comprehensive approach to sustainability, combining technological innovation, infrastructure development, climate action, and collaborative partnership to address one of the most critical challenges of our time.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

• The article focuses on a partnership to deploy Energy Dome’s long-duration energy storage (LDES) solution, which is designed to make renewable energy sources like solar and wind more reliable and dispatchable. This directly supports the transition to clean energy systems. The text states the goal is to address “a key challenge enabling the use of 24/7 clean energy.”

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

• The partnership between Google and Energy Dome is centered on deploying an innovative technology—the CO2 Battery. The article describes it as a “first-of-a-kind LDES technology” and an “advanced long-term energy storage (LDES) solution.” This represents an investment in new, sustainable infrastructure to support the energy grid.

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

• The article explicitly mentions the broader community benefits of this technology. Maud Texier of Google states the hope is to “help communities everywhere gain greater access to reliable, affordable electricity and support grid resilience.” This directly contributes to making human settlements more sustainable and resilient.

SDG 13: Climate Action

• The entire initiative is framed as a response to climate change. Google’s “24/7 CFE ambition” is a corporate climate goal to run its business on carbon-free energy. The deployment of energy storage is a critical strategy to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and integrate more renewables, thereby taking urgent action to combat climate change.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

• The article is fundamentally about a “new long-term partnership” between a technology startup (Energy Dome) and a major corporation (Google). This collaboration involves a “strategic investment” and a plan for global deployment, exemplifying a multi-stakeholder partnership that mobilizes financial resources and technology to achieve sustainable development.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

• Target 7.2: By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. The article’s focus on making “solar and wind power dispatchable” through energy storage directly enables a higher penetration of these intermittent renewable sources into the energy grid.
• Target 7.a: By 2030, enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology… and promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology. The partnership between US-based Google and Italy-based Energy Dome, which includes a “strategic investment by Google” and plans for global deployment, is a direct example of this target in action.

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

• Target 9.4: By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable… with greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies. The deployment of the CO2 Battery is a clear example of upgrading energy infrastructure with a “technologically proven and scalable” clean technology to support a sustainable energy system.

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

• Target 11.b: By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards… resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters. The technology’s stated ability to “support grid resilience” contributes directly to building resilient infrastructure, which is a core component of this target.

SDG 13: Climate Action

• Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning. Google’s corporate goal to “run its entire business on carbon-free energy (CFE) by 2030” serves as a private-sector equivalent of a climate strategy, and this partnership is a tangible action to implement that plan.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

• Target 17.16: Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources. The article describes a partnership that mobilizes Google’s financial resources and global reach with Energy Dome’s technological expertise to achieve the shared goal of 24/7 clean energy.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

• Implied Indicator for Target 7.2: The article mentions Google’s goal of “matching electricity demand with CFE supply every hour of every day.” Progress towards this 100% hourly match is a measurable indicator of increasing the share of clean energy in its operations.
• Indicator for Target 7.a: The “strategic investment by Google” is a direct indicator of financial flows towards clean energy technology. The “long-term partnership” itself serves as an indicator of international cooperation.

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

• Indicator for Target 9.4: The article refers to a “pipeline of sites and projects currently in development” and the “programmatic and strategic deployment of our technology at scale.” The number of commercial deployments and the total energy storage capacity (in MWh) installed would be direct indicators of the adoption of this clean technology.

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

• Implied Indicator for Target 11.b: The technology’s ability to provide continuous dispatch for “up to 24 hours” and “support grid resilience” can be measured. Metrics such as improved grid stability, reduction in energy curtailment, or decreased frequency of power outages in areas with these installations would serve as indicators.

SDG 13: Climate Action

• Indicator for Target 13.2: The primary indicator is progress toward Google’s “24/7 CFE ambition.” This can be measured by the percentage of Google’s energy consumption that is matched on an hourly basis with carbon-free energy sources.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

• Indicator for Target 17.16: The existence of the “long-term partnership” and the “strategic investment” are themselves indicators. The scale of the collaboration, defined by the “multiple commercial deployments” across “Europe, America, and Asia-Pacific,” is a measurable outcome of the partnership’s effectiveness.

4. SDGs, Targets and Indicators Table

Source: esgtoday.com