Crusoe expands energy storage with Form Energy and Redwood deals

Data center developer Crusoe is significantly scaling its energy storage capacity through two new procurement agreements. The company announced that it will purchase 12 gigawatt-hours of 100-hour batteries—a long-duration energy storage technology—from Form Energy. In a parallel move, Crusoe is expanding its partnership with Redwood Materials, the battery recycling and reuse company founded by former Tesla Chief Technology Officer J. B. Straubel, to secure additional power from repurposed electric vehicle batteries.

The contract with Form Energy is expected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the battery manufacturer. This new demand comes as Form Energy initiates a $500 million funding round, having already raised $1.4 billion to date according to PitchBook data. Deliveries of the batteries to Crusoe are scheduled to begin in 2027. The deal follows a larger contract Form Energy announced last month to build a 30 gigawatt-hour battery for Google in Minnesota. That Google transaction was worth about $1 billion, according to a report by The Information. To prepare for these larger contracts, Form Energy began expanding its first factory in West Virginia last year, anticipating the demand that is now materializing.

Form Energy’s iron-air batteries utilize a technology that uses the oxidation of iron to store energy. The batteries discharge electricity when oxygen from the air flows over iron pebbles inside the battery to create rust. To charge the battery, electricity is applied to de-rust the iron, which subsequently releases the oxygen. This technology will be deployed alongside Crusoe’s existing battery systems.

Crusoe will integrate these new storage assets to expand its power infrastructure. To contrast its current capacity with the newly announced procurement volumes:

• Existing capacity: Crusoe has been operating a 12 megawatt, 63 megawatt-hour battery on a microgrid (a localized energy grid) since June.
• New Form Energy procurement: 12 gigawatt-hours of 100-hour long-duration batteries, with deliveries starting in 2027.
• New Redwood Materials procurement: An additional 8 megawatts of power delivered via repurposed electric vehicle batteries.

Why it matters

Crusoe’s procurement strategy highlights the growing necessity for data center operators to secure long-duration energy storage to manage power demands, moving beyond standard grid reliance.