Hydrostor Brings on Former Shell Executive, Glenn Wright, as New Member of Board of Directors
Article content
New member of Hydrostor Board of Directors Glenn Wright will bring key experience from Shell, where he led the company's integrated gas and renewables business
Article content
TORONTO — Hydrostor, a leading global long duration energy storage (LDES) developer and operator, is pleased to announce that Glenn Wright will join its Board of Directors following its annual shareholders meeting in September.
Article content
'We're excited to have Glenn join our team at such a critical juncture, as our Silver City and Willow Rock projects are nearing beginning of construction, and our project development pipeline continues to expand and mature,' said Curtis VanWalleghem, Hydrostor Founder and CEO. 'Glenn brings critical power industry knowledge that will help us continue to grow our offerings.'
Article content
Wright joins Hydrostor's Board of Directors with over 30 years of experience in energy. In his 27 years with Shell he held a number of roles, including President & CEO of Shell New Energies US LLC and Senior Vice President of Shell Renewables & Energy Solutions, where he led the integrated power and gas businesses across North and South America.
Article content
Wright's portfolio included renewable energy development, energy storage, customer energy solutions, and retail operations. Previously, he was the Senior Vice President of Shell Energy, Americas, and President & CEO of Shell Energy North America. He came to those roles after an eight-year stint as General Manager of Power Trading at the company.
Article content
'I am thrilled to join Hydrostor as a non-executive director. Hydrostor is an innovative company with demonstrated technology that fills a critical void in long-duration energy storage,' said Glenn Wright. 'I look forward to contributing to its continued success in advancing sustainable energy solutions.'
Article content
Wright is currently a Trustee & Investment Committee member at the Georgia Tech Foundation, and an Advisor at the University of Texas at Austin's College of Engineering – all roles he has held since 2022. He holds a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Texas at Austin.
Article content
About Hydrostor Inc.
Article content
Hydrostor is a leading developer and operator of long duration energy storage systems. Hydrostor leverages a proven technology solution for delivering long duration energy storage (eight hours or more) to power grids around the world. Hydrostor's technology uses compressed air and water to store energy. This patented technology allows grid operators to draw on clean energy, even when there is no sun to fuel solar panels and no wind to generate energy from turbines.
Article content
Hydrostor has a successful utility scale facility commercially contracted to the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) located in Goderich, Ontario, and two advanced projects under development in Kern County, California and New South Wales, Australia. Hydrostor has an extensive pipeline of early-stage projects in North America, Australia, and Europe.
Article content
Founded in 2010 and with headquarters in Toronto, Canada and offices in Melbourne, Australia, and Denver, USA, Hydrostor is backed by Goldman Sachs Alternatives, CPP Investments, Canada Growth Fund, and other forward-thinking institutional investors, providing financial security to commit to top-tier energy projects.
Article content
Article content
Article content
Article content
Article content
Article content
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
‘This is a retroactive tax': Trump halts trade talks with Canada over digital services tax
Watch CTV's Colton Praill explains the collapse of digital tax talks, its goals, and why it may have angered former President Trump.
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
DHL Express Canada workers ratify new agreement, move to end strike and lockout
DHL containers are transported on the tarmac at John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport in Hamilton, Ont., Wednesday, March 26, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nick Iwanyshyn TORONTO — Canada's largest private sector union says a three-week lockout and strike at DHL Express Canada is due to end because workers ratified a new agreement. Unifor says the four-year agreement reached with the delivery company was ratified with 72 per cent support from members. It includes a 15.75 per cent wage hike, pension increases for hourly workers and a new pension for owner-operators. The agreement also features increases to short- and long-term disability payments, new mental-health benefits, a rise in severance and updated language around artificial intelligence, robotics and work-from-home policies. The agreement impacts more than 2,100 DHL Express Canada employees who work as truck drivers, couriers and in warehouse and clerical roles. They were locked out after midnight on June 8 and went on strike hours later. Unifor now says DHL workers will return to work after the ratification but offered no definite timeline. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 28, 2025. The Canadian Press
CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Hudson's Bay landlords don't want Ruby Liu to move in, but retailer still has a shot
Social Sharing A group of Hudson's Bay's landlords don't want to transfer more than two dozen leases to B.C. billionaire Weihong (Ruby) Liu, but the department store still has a chance to get its way. The Bay, which filed for creditor protection in March, ran a process over the last several months to find buyers for leases belonging to it and Saks Canada. It agreed to sell up to 28 spaces to Liu. Three leases were transferred to her without any hiccups because they're in B.C. malls she owns, but another 25 are at properties held by a who's who of Canadian commercial real estate firms. Landlords for 23 of those sites oppose the transfer. Several have said in court they've been "very troubled" with their interactions with Liu and have had "no productive discussions, no meaningful disclosure." Liu insists if the court hands her the leases, landlords will warm to her and her plan to open a new department store in their properties. While the disagreement could serve as a roadblock to the Bay closing on its agreement with Liu, lawyers not involved in the case say the retailer has another route it can take to get a deal done. That route lies in changes to the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) — Canada's main insolvency law — made in 2009, said Jeff Lee, a Saskatoon-based partner at MLT Aikins LLP. The changes laid out three criteria courts must consider when asked to assign leases to a new tenant. WATCH | Who is Ruby Liu? Who is Hudson's Bay benefactor and billionaire Ruby Liu? 3 days ago Duration 6:16 Ruby Liu, a billionaire with a big vision, now has legal permission to take over the leases of three former Hudson's Bay department stores located at three malls already under her ownership. For more on the new Bay benefactor, we're joined by retail analyst Carl Boutet. The first is whether or not the sale has the support of the monitor, a court-appointed, independent third party which helps guide businesses through creditor protection. In the Bay's case, the monitor is Alvarez & Marsal. It has yet to reveal whether it supports the Liu deal and did not respond to requests for comment. "Before any court application is brought forward, typically the company will test that out with them," Lee said. "They're not going to just sort of fly in blind and hope for the best." The second aspect for the court to mull is whether the proposed new tenant is suitable. Lee said that's determined by looking at whether they can perform the duties of the tenant and pay rent. Liu, who made her money in Chinese real estate, appears to have deep pockets but her experience comes from being a landlord rather than a tenant. The final aspect the court will consider is whether a transfer of a lease to Liu is "appropriate." Lee said people should think of it as asking this question: "Is what's proposed for this post-assignment lease relationship what people signed up for, or are they seeking to rewrite the lease or change the playing field so radically that it's not appropriate?" WATCH | What went wrong for Hudson's Bay: What went wrong with Hudson's Bay? 3 months ago Duration 5:49 That's where much of the tension could lie in the Bay case. "You can't go into CCAA as a tenant and then force your landlords to renegotiate their leases as a result," said Peter Tolensky, a Vancouver-based partner at Lawson Lundell LLP. The Canadian Press obtained a document last week that Liu's lawyer sent landlords outlining her plans. It says she will take on the leases on an "as is, where is" basis but doesn't mention the dining, entertainment, children's and fitness experiences she's told media she'd like to include in her department stores. It's unclear whether the leases allow for uses other than a Bay-like department store. Some lenders owed more than $100M A court faced with a request to reassign leases will weigh this context and think about whether "the landlord's world is being turned upside down by having this new tenant," said Geoffrey Dabbs, a B.C.-based founding partner at Gehlen Dabbs Cash. "The more it's a minor inconvenience for the landlord, the more likely the judge will order it," he said. While the Bay hasn't said whether it will seek an assignment, it's likely because any company in creditor protection has a duty to show the court it's doing its best to pay back companies and people it owes money to, Dabbs said. The Bay has a 26-page list of creditors, with some lenders owed more than $100 million each. Liquidation sales and a deal to sell the Bay trademarks to Canadian Tire for $30 million have put a dent in what's owed but selling leases to Liu would also help. Anyone who made an offer for leases had to make a deposit of 10 per cent of their estimated purchase price. Court documents show Liu made a deposit of $9.4 million, in addition to $6 million for the three approved leases, which would equate to a purchase price of $100 million for 28 leases. When a deal like this is reached, Dabbs said a company typically seeks landlord consent because commercial leases tend to have provisions stopping anyone from transferring a lease without a property owner agreeing. It's not uncommon for landlords to object because any leases that can't be sold and aren't assigned get turned back over to property owners who can choose how to fill them and under what terms. These are anchor leases, Tolensky noted. "So they're probably very favourable to the Bay or to the tenant in a lot of respects," Tolensky said, alluding to the fact that anchor tenants are often given attractive rents or terms. Thus, it's more advantageous for landlords to get their properties back, said Monica Beffa, founder of an Oakville, Ont., law firm. If they do, they can then charge higher rents, develop them for entirely new uses such as residential units or break them up into smaller parcels that can be rented by a wide array of tenants. If they don't and a court assigns the leases to Liu, landlords will likely be watching her closely to ensure she doesn't violate any terms of the agreement. Dabbs said: "The landlord may be cranky, if the tenant breaches, but put it this way, they don't want to rely on that.
