Work begins on first liquid air energy plant
Work has begun on the world’s first commercial liquid air storage facility near Manchester, alongside a visitor centre with the hope of turning the ambitious project into a tourist attraction.
The 50MW facility will store enough power for around 50,000 homes for five hours.
UK based High Power and independent/natural gas developer Carlton Power will build and operate the ‘Cryobattery’, which could later be expanded to add more storage.
The plant will use surplus electricity from wind farms at night to compress air so hard that it becomes a liquid at -196 Celsius. When there is a peak in demand in a day or a month, the liquid air will be warmed so it expands. The resulting rush of air will drive a turbine to make electricity, which can be sold back to the grid.
Last year, Highview Power was awarded a £10 million grant from the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to build the facility at Trafford Energy Park, in Carrington Village. The visitor centre, scheduled to open in the first quarter of this year, will provide an immersive experience allowing visitors not only to see the progress of the site being built, but also to have the opportunity to take virtual tours.
Javier Cavada, Highview Power CEO and president explained:
“Our facility will deliver much needed clean, reliable and cost-efficient long-duration energy storage to the National Grid. The CRYOBattery™ will help the UK to integrate renewable energy and stabilize the regional electrical grid to ensure future energy security during blackouts and other disruptions.”
The first of its kind system was created by Peter Dearman, a self-taught inventor from Hertfordshire. Dearman, who is now a shareholder in Highview added:
“It’s very exciting, we need many different forms of energy storage - and I’m confident liquid air will be one of them”
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