Inlyte Energy's iron-sodium battery at Berkshire East will support clean peak power, renewable energy integration and extended backup for a rural community hub
Boston, MA (PRUnderground) October 1st, 2026
Inlyte Energy, a manufacturer of iron-sodium battery energy storage systems, and CutPeak Energy, a clean-tech company developing battery storage projects at ski resorts, today announced a long-duration energy storage project at Berkshire East Mountain Resort in Western Massachusetts. The project is one of two long-duration storage demonstrations selected under the Healey-Driscoll Administration's $40.3 million Advancing Massachusetts Power (AMP) Energy Storage Grant Program.
The award supports development of an Inlyte iron-sodium battery system capable of delivering up to 80 MWh of stored energy, with an online date targeted for 2028. The project remains subject to final commercial agreements, financing and customary development approvals.
The project is designed around the unusual energy profile of a mountain resort: brief periods of very high electricity demand for snowmaking followed by long periods of much lower demand. Long-duration storage can use those lower-demand periods to recharge, then deliver clean power during extended snowmaking peaks while also providing backup power during grid outages.
As winters become warmer and less predictable, snowmaking is increasingly important to the economic resilience of ski areas across New England. At Berkshire East, snowmaking can push electricity demand as high as 4 MW, but those peaks occur during only a small fraction of the year. That combination of high peak demand and low overall load factor creates an unusually strong fit for long-duration energy storage -- helping ski areas manage increasingly important snowmaking operations without placing the same peak demands on an already constrained electric grid. The original project design identified snowmaking as the resort's largest source of peak electricity demand and demand charges as its second-largest operating cost.
"The Berkshire East project shows what becomes possible when Inlyte's iron-sodium battery does more than one job," said Ben Kaun, Chief Commercial Officer of Inlyte Energy. "Its efficient, long-duration capability enables clean power during demanding snowmaking peaks, makes better use of renewable electricity, and keeps a critical community resource operating when the grid goes down. Projects like this show how Inlyte's iron-sodium energy storage can make the power system cleaner, more productive and more resilient."
The project also demonstrates how storage can help rural communities make better use of existing energy infrastructure. During the many hours when Berkshire East's snowmaking load is low, available grid capacity can support battery charging and, over time, additional productive electric loads. Long-duration storage can also enable greater use of renewable electricity by storing energy when production exceeds immediate demand and delivering it when it is most valuable - an especially attractive opportunity in rural areas where space for renewable generation may be less constrained.
That flexibility is particularly valuable at a site like Berkshire East, which serves not only as a year-round recreation destination and regional economic anchor, but also as a community resource during emergencies. During an extended grid outage, the battery can shift from economic and grid operations to supplying critical loads at the resort, supporting its ability to serve as a shelter, warming center and staging location for emergency services.
"Snowmaking is what keeps this mountain running in the winter, but it is also what drives our biggest electricity costs," said Andy Cornish, General Manager at Berkshire East. "This project gives us a way to address both sides of that challenge -- managing our peak demand while strengthening Berkshire East's ability to support our community when the grid is under stress."
Inlyte's iron-sodium chemistry is particularly suited to long-duration applications in rural and mountain environments. Built from abundant iron and salt, the battery contains no flammable organic materials and is designed to operate across a wide range of temperatures. Its intrinsic safety, cold-weather performance and long-duration capability are important attributes for large-scale storage at a public-facing mountain recreation destination.
"Ski areas are an unusually strong fit for long-duration energy storage, and one of the reasons we were drawn to Inlyte was how well the chemistry fits this kind of site," said Brett Miller, CEO of CutPeak Energy. "Inlyte is a U.S.-based, FEOC-compliant supplier using abundant materials like iron and salt, with a chemistry that mitigates fire risk -- an important consideration at a mountain serving as a public recreation and community destination. At the same time, Berkshire East has substantial grid infrastructure that sits underused much of the year, while snowmaking creates intense electric demand during increasingly narrow weather windows. This project brings those pieces together: solving an operational challenge for the mountain while turning existing energy infrastructure into a productive grid asset. For me, this project is also personal. Berkshire East was my home hill growing up, and I spent years here on the race team. I'm grateful for the opportunity to give something back to a mountain that meant so much to me, while helping demonstrate a model that could strengthen ski areas and the communities around them across the country."
The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) will provide independent monitoring, verification and knowledge transfer from the project, helping translate operating experience at Berkshire East into lessons for future long-duration storage deployments.
The Berkshire East project builds on Inlyte's ongoing projects with Southern Company and the University of California, Irvine. Those projects are advancing field validation of Inlyte's iron-sodium projects, including performance across a wide temperature range. Berkshire East represents the next stage in scale: applying the technology in a multi-megawatt, long-duration installation designed to serve customer, community and grid needs simultaneously.
Together, Inlyte, CutPeak and Berkshire East are demonstrating a model for getting more from the energy infrastructure communities already have - integrating more renewable energy, reducing costly peaks, supporting new productive uses of electricity and providing meaningful resilience when the grid is unavailable.
For more information, please visit: Inlyte Energy, CutPeak Energy and Berkshire East Mountain Resort.
About Inlyte Energy
Inlyte Energy delivers breakthrough iron-sodium battery technology enabling safe, sustainable and domestically produced short- and long-duration energy storage. With simple ingredients - iron and salt - and innovative design, Inlyte is reshaping energy storage, enhancing resilience and supporting electricity growth worldwide. Inlyte's modular battery design makes it ideal for utilities, industrial facilities, data centers and critical infrastructure seeking reliable and resilient power storage solutions.
For more information, visit: www.inlyteenergy.com.
About CutPeak Energy
CutPeak Energy is a clean energy company focused on transforming ski areas into flexible, resilient energy assets. The company works with ski areas and technology partners to use underutilized grid interconnections, flexible electric loads, energy storage and distributed energy resources to reduce peak energy costs, strengthen resilience and create value for the electric grid. CutPeak Energy is developing a scalable model that aligns the operational needs of mountain communities with the growing need for flexible power infrastructure. For more information, visit: www.cutpeakenergy.com.
