Texas Oil Wells Hold a Renewable Energy Solution | American Innovators

What if abandoned oil wells could serve as energy storage units for renewables like wind and solar? Texas startup Renewell Energy thinks they can power the entire U.S. grid with an energy solution for everyone.

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There are 2.5 million inactive oil wells in the United States, and that number continues to grow. Texas-based startup, Renewell Energy, is out to convert 700,000 of these abandoned wells into giant mechanical batteries, enough to power the entire U.S. grid. And they’re doing it with what they sum up as a “fancy regenerative wench,” weighing in at 10,000 pounds, fondly referred to as Artemis Prime.

Renewell’s energy storage solution is highly valuable to wind and solar industries whose power is intermittent and based on the weather. Using abandoned oil wells, Artemis Prime stores power that can be deployed flexibly and stored indefinitely, unlike lithium ion batteries, which begin to degrade as soon as they are charged. This creates a win-win for both oil & gas, and renewables, and while that may be an unusual situation, it’s not surprising that a big solution like this is coming straight out of Texas, the energy capital of the world.

“We give regulators what they want, we give the state and federal governments what they want. And we give oil and gas companies what they want, and renewable developers what they want,” explains Kemp Gregory, Renewell co-founder and CEO.

Renewell co-founder and CTO, Stefan Streckfus, adds, “There's a lot of value in bringing something out that isn't trying to penalize somebody for playing a role in what has happened in the past but is instead just trying to help everyone that's involved.”

Though the idea for Artemis Prime came together while the founders were studying energy at Stanford, none of this would be possible if not for a place to build something “big and physical.” And what better place for that than Texas, at PCDworks, an 80-acre innovation campus, spearheaded by architect Donna Rainone and her husband, Mike. Over 30+ patents have been developed at PCDworks, with projects for the likes of the US Military, PepsiCo, 3M, Coleman, Kodak, Kellogg’s and more. At Mike and Donna’s generous invitation, Stefan and Kemp headed home to Texas to build an American dream for the energy transition.

Together Mike, Donna, Kemp and Stefan took Artemis Prime from an idea into a real functioning solution, from R&D, proof of concept, to minimum commercial product phase. Powered by grants from Stanford, ARPA-E in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory along with additional funding raised by Renewell, Artemis is about to go on tour and prove that oil and gas, and renewables can work together to solve big energy challenges for Texas and all of America.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 Lightning always strikes twice
00:13 How abandoned wells can store energy
01:32 Inactive oil wells leak methane
01:53 Flexible energy storage vs lithium ion batteries
02:23 How Artemis Prime stores energy in wells
03:06 2.5 million inactive oil wells in the US
03:41 A solution for oil & gas, and renewable energy
05:21 Family dinners
05:52 How a husband and wife team built PCDworks
07:45 The future of Artemis Prime
08:07 What sustainability means to Renewell
08:54 The Infrastructure Bill as a Climate Bill
09:39 The dream starts in Bakersfield
10:07 Surveying the empire
10:23 Building a legacy
11:11 All things yield to persistence

Texas Oil Wells Hold a Renewable Energy Solution | American Innovators

Directed by Jessie English
Created by Conor Gaughan and Kate Tucker
Written and hosted by Kate Tucker
Produced by Consensus Digital Media in partnership with Remedial Media
Executive Producer - Kate Tucker
Executive Producer - Jessie English
Executive Producer - Eric Feigenbaum
Executive Producer - Conor Gaughan

Featuring (in order of appearance):
Stefan Streckfus, Renewell Energy Co-Founder & CTO
Kemp Gregory, Renewell Energy Co-Founder & CEO
Mike Rainone, PCDworks Vice President
Donna Rainone, PCDworks President

Filmed at PCDworks Headquarters in Palestine, Texas.
Additional drone footage of Artemis Prime filmed in Sanger, Texas.

Supervising Producer - Geoff Rock
Editor - Nick Nazmi
Assistant Editor - Dustin Waldman
Director of Photography - Isaac Rosenthal
Camera Operator - Eddie Bernard
Gaffer / Drone Operator - Fletcher Anstis
Additional Drone Footage - Andrew Pyle
Sound Engineer - Tom Eichler
Production Coordinator - John Ryan Gage
PA - Josiah Shaw
Makeup & Hair - Jennifer Pritchett
Wardrobe - Hollie Van Osenbruggen
Audio Mixer / Sound Design - Dillon Terry
Color Grading - Ind3x
Motion Graphics - Yuriy Netrebyuk
Graphic Design - Stephen Lepsch

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