UK-based storage provider Highview Power has unveiled what it says is the world’s first modular giga-scale cryogenic battery.
Highview said its Cryobattery energy storage system is scalable “up to multiple gigawatts of energy storage and can be located anywhere”.
And Highview claimed the technology “reaches a new benchmark for a levelised cost of storage (LCOS) of US$140/MWh for a 10-hour, 200 MW/2 GWh system”.
The technology works by taking off-peak or excess electricity and using it to turn air into a liquid by refrigerating it to -196°C and storing it in insulated tanks at low pressure. When power is required, liquid air is drawn from the tanks and pumped to high pressure. Heat harnessed from the liquefaction process is applied to the liquid air via heat exchangers and an intermediate heat transfer fluid. This produces a high-pressure gas in the form of air that is then used to drive the turbine and create electricity.
Last year, Highview launched operations at a demonstration facility (pictured) in northwest England.
Highview has partnered with Finland-based Citec to modularise its system.
Highview president and CEO Javier Cavada said: “This is a pivotal moment for the renewable energy industry and for anyone who wants to deploy large amounts of renewable. As more and more renewables are added to the grid, long-duration, giga-scale energy storage, is the necessary foundation to make these intermittent sources of power reliable enough to become baseload.”