SPEAKING OUT — Form Energy COO Ted Wiley speaks during the West Virginia Manufacturing Energy Growth (WVMEG) summit happening Monday at Oglebay Park’s Wilson Lodge. The event concludes today. -- Joselyn King

WHEELING – Form Energy is presently building its first four iron air batteries to help power an electric grid in Minnesota, and the company expects to ship them this summer, according to its founder.

Form Energy Chief Operating Officer Ted Wiley provided an update on Form Energy happenings during the West Virginia Manufacturing Energy Growth (WVMEG) summit happening Monday at Oglebay Park Resort’s Wilson Lodge. The event concludes today.

Wiley explained that Form Energy now has about 450 employees working at its “Form 1” plant in Weirton, including about 40 recently transferred there from its facility in Eighty-Four, Pennsylvania, which was recently closed.

The company also has operations in Bay Area, California, with 200 employees, and in 250 employees at its location in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Wiley said the Weirton facility is called “Form 1” because it is Form Energy’s first production plant, and he expects there to be more.

“We’re making everything from the hydraulics, to the cells, to the shipping containers, and we ship them to our customer’s site,” he continued. “Today, we are working on the first four that are going to our first customer. Our first four shippable units are under construction in the factory today.”

Each battery will go out in multiple shipping containers, and about 40 containers will soon be on their way to Minnesota, he said.

He noted the company plans to have a ceremony when it ships out those first batteries. After they are constructed, the batteries will have to be tested, and he expects they will be shipped out sometime in July.

Form Energy will invite state lawmakers and officials to the ceremony, and plans call for asking West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey to participate and write a message on the side, such as “Proudly Made in West Virginia” and ship them to Minnesota.

“Then they are going to use it to back up their grid,” Wiley explained.

The first batteries have been ordered by Great River Energy servicing Minnesota, he reported. Additional batteries also have been ordered from Form Energy, and they are slated to be shipped out to Dominion Energy in Virginia, Georgia Power, Xcel Energy in Colorado, and the State of California Energy Commission, as well as utility companies in New York and Maine.

“Turns out, utilities all over the country are buying them because they all want what we do – a grid that works when you want it to,” Wiley said. “We have about another half dozen we are working on, and will announce in the coming months.”

The first orders are small by utility standards, but he sees them getting larger. He also hopes that other energy providers, including nuclear providers, have success in powering the nation.

“As an energy person, and as a citizen of the United States, we need to build up our own energy infrastructure to do the things we’re going to do next,” Wiley continued. “We need to dominate in energy. We need every type of technology that is available.”