TORONTO, CANADA – June 24, 2021 – Hydrostor, a long-duration energy storage solution provider, with a commercial-ready product and established supply chain, today announced the appointment of Guy Bentinck as Chief Financial Officer and Dean Comand as Chief Operating Officer.
Guy has more than 25 years of experience across the natural resource and power generation sectors, with a record of accomplishments in leadership, strategy, value creation, capital markets and capital projects. He has previously been Chief Financial Officer for a number of public companies, including Fairfax Africa, Sherritt International Corporation (“Sherritt”) and Royal Utilities Income Fund. Through other roles, including SVP Capital Projects at Sherritt and President and CEO of a resource development company, Guy brings diverse experience to Hydrostor that will support the development of the company’s robust pipeline of projects.
When commenting on his appointment, Guy Bentinck said: “Utility-scale long-duration energy storage is a critical component in the ongoing shift from traditional fossil fuel to renewable power generation. Hydrostor’s commercially proven technology will lead the way to support this energy transition.”
Dean has 25 years of experience as an executive with construction, energy, manufacturing, mining, telecommunications, and utilities experiences, in both start-up and growth organizations. Dean was previously President and Chief Executive Officer of Hamilton Utilities Corporation (“HUC”), with a portfolio containing infrastructure, power generation, electricity distribution and other green technologies. Prior to HUC, Dean was the Vice President of Operations for Ambatovy Minerals S.A., where he successfully led the construction, commissioning, and operation of one of the world’s largest lateritic nickel mines and refinery.
Dean Comand said: “I am very excited to be joining Hydrostor during this transformation in the global energy sector, with the company poised to become a leading player in long-duration energy storage.”
Hydrostor’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Curtis Van Walleghem, said, “We are very pleased to welcome both Guy and Dean to Hydrostor’s executive team. Both bring extensive and diverse experience that will complement our existing leadership team, and will support the execution of our project pipeline of more than 6 GW and 65 GWh of near-term projects.”
This news comes after Hydrostor’s recent public announcements of projects in California and Australia totalling more than 1,200 MW. Around the world, long-duration energy storage is becoming a critical component for countries to achieve their decarbonization targets by supporting more renewables entering the grid.
A recent study published by the National Research Energy Laboratory, part of the U.S. Department of Energy, predicts the likelihood of a minimum five-fold increase in diurnal storage (up to 12-hours) in the U.S. power system growing to over 125,000 MW by 2050, with deployment potentially as high as 680,000 MW.
Guy and Dean’s appointments come shortly after the recently announced appointments of respected industry executives Curt Hildebrand and Julie Gill to further bolster project development activities in California. Curt brings over 35 years of experience in the energy sector working for a number of companies, including leadership positions with Calpine Corporation. Julie’s career spans 25 years in regulatory affairs and policy making, predominantly at AES and the California Independent System Operator. Collectively, Curt and Julie have managed the successful development of over 5,000 MW of new power projects in California.
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About Hydrostor
Hydrostor is a long-duration energy storage solutions provider that provides reliable and affordable utility integration of long-duration energy storage, enabling grid operators to scale renewable energy and secure grid capacity. Hydrostor supports the green economic transition, employing the people, suppliers, and technologies from the traditional energy sector to design, build, and operate emissions-free energy storage facilities. Hydrostor has developed, deployed, tested, and demonstrated that its patented Advanced Compressed Air Energy Storage (A-CAES) technology can provide long-duration energy storage and enable the renewable energy transition. Hydrostor has projects worldwide in various development stages for providing capacity of over 200 MW and for 6 or more hours.
Learn more about Hydrostor here: hydrostor.ca