ESS Appoints European Leadership and Initiates Deployment of Safe Iron-Flow Batteries to Fulfill European Energy Storage

Requirement of up to 20 TWh, to Achieve Grid Net-Zero by 2040

ESS Tech, Inc. (NYSE: GWH), a U.S. manufacturer of long-duration batteries for utility-scale and commercial energy storage applications, today announces the expansion of its operations into Europe to meet strong demand in the region for the company’s long-duration energy storage (LDES) solutions.

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ESS is scheduled to begin European deployment of its long-duration batteries during the second half of 2022. The European region is expected to require up to 20 TWh of long-duration energy storage if it is to meet UN climate change goals of Grid Net-Zero by 2040¹. With the transition to renewables set to accelerate following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the use of LDES will also reduce the dependency of European countries on gas-powered generation of electricity.

ESS’ market expansion in Europe includes the appointment of Alan Greenshields as Director of Europe, to oversee customer adoption and deployment of the company’s LDES solutions. Greenshields brings over 25 years of experience to ESS in senior executive roles and has held several board-level positions at battery technology companies.

The European region has shown strong demand for LDES solutions to support solar and wind energy sources, and transition grids away from fossil fuels. As an indication of this demand, ESS has already announced customer orders from ENEL in Spain for the delivery 17 ESS Energy Warehouse™ iron flow battery systems, providing a combined capacity of 8.5 MWh, which will be used to support an EU-backed solar farm and provide resilience for the local power grid.

ESS’s long-duration batteries are manufactured using iron, salt and water, and offer customers, safe, low-cost and sustainable energy storage. ESS iron-flow batteries do not degrade with cycling and are produced using earth-abundant materials, making them a highly cost-effective long-duration energy storage option capable of addressing a wide range of use cases.

According to the LDES Council’s inaugural report published in November 2021, long-duration energy storage is necessary if we are to limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5° Celsius. The report also estimates that by 2040 the deployment of LDES could result in the avoidance of 1.5 to 2.3 gigatons of carbon dioxide per annum.¹

“Based on our success in the US, it makes sense to bring our technology to the European market where demand is so strong,” says Eric Dresselhuys, CEO of ESS. “LDES technologies are the only way we can combat the devasting effects of climate change. We are deploying solutions today that will help the European region to simultaneously accelerate the transition to sustainable energy sources and achieve its energy security goals.”

“Long-duration energy storage is the answer to how we are going to get our grids to net zero,” explains Alan Greenshields, Director Europe, ESS. “ESS is the leading LDES battery maker in the world and best placed to drive the decarbonising of our energy systems in Europe. To work with such a strong company on such a critical mission is a challenge I thoroughly look forward to.”

About ESS Inc.

ESS Inc. (NYSE:GWH) designs, builds and deploys environmentally sustainable, low-cost, iron flow batteries for long-duration commercial and utility-scale energy storage applications requiring from 4 to 12 hours of flexible energy capacity. The Energy Warehouse™ and Energy Center™ use earth-abundant iron, salt, and water for the electrolyte, resulting in an environmentally benign, long-life energy storage solution for the world’s renewable energy infrastructure. Established in 2011, ESS Inc. enables project developers, utilities, and commercial and industrial facility owners to make the transition to more flexible, non-lithium-ion storage that is better suited for the grid and the environment. For more information, visit www.essinc.com.

Forward–Looking Statements

This communication contains certain forward-looking statements, including statements regarding ESS’ and its management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. The words “anticipate”, “believe”, “continue”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intends”, “may”, “might”, “plan”, “possible”, “potential”, “predict”, “project”, “should”, “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements are based on ESS’ current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on ESS. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this announcement. There can be no assurance that the future developments affecting ESS will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond ESS’ control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, ESS is not undertaking any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

1. LDES Council: Net-zero power: Long duration energy storage for a renewable grid

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