CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Westinghouse Electric Company and Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH), the state-owned energy enterprise, have signed today a Memorandum of Understanding to implement Long-Duration Energy Storage (LDES) in Bulgaria. The signing was witnessed by the Minister of Energy of Bulgaria Alexander Nikolov.

The agreement calls for the installation of two Pumped Thermal Energy Storage (PTES) units providing 2 GWh of sustainable energy storage. This significant addition will boost electric grid resiliency and provide an economic means to support and stabilize renewable energy generation in the country, with the potential to offset up to 0.7 million metric tons of CO₂ emissions annually. The technology was developed within the Westinghouse family of companies.

“The goal for carbon neutrality set by the European Green Deal is a serious challenge for the sustainable and competitive development of the energy sector,” said Ivan Andreev, CEO of Bulgarian Energy Holding. “The reliability and affordability of energy systems based on various energy sources, such as wind and solar, may depend on the ability to store large amounts of generated low-cost energy for long periods of time. Large-scale deployment of LDES with the benefits this technology brings can significantly reduce the overall cost of future systems generating clean energy from renewables. BEH has a reliable partner with Westinghouse for an innovative and sustainable development of the energy sector in this country and the region.”

“Collaborating with BEH, the largest state-owned company in Bulgaria and a leader in the energy market, marks a significant step in our ability to provide countries with enhanced energy security options. We are providing an advanced long duration, grid-scale energy storage as a safe and reliable energy resource,” said Elias Gedeon, Westinghouse Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations. “Together, we can achieve European and Bulgarian net carbon goals utilizing an efficient and cost-competitive energy storage technology.”

Westinghouse has developed a novel sustainable and scalable thermal storage technology and has partnered with Echogen Power Systems to meet the demand for LDES. Delivering 10 or more hours of reliable energy storage, PTES solves many of the challenges associated with other LDES applications, providing increased flexibility and class leading cost to manage fluctuations in electricity supply and demand. This solution features a design life of more than 50 years and utilizes low-cost, abundant materials, providing further advantages over common energy storage technologies.

Westinghouse Electric Company is shaping the future of carbon-free energy by providing safe, innovative nuclear technologies to utilities globally. Westinghouse supplied the world’s first commercial pressurized water reactor in 1957 and the company’s technology is the basis for nearly one-half of the world’s operating nuclear plants. Over 135 years of innovation makes Westinghouse the preferred partner for advanced technologies covering the complete nuclear energy life cycle. For more information, visit www.westinghousenuclear.com and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.