Friday 28 June 2019

Highview Power unveils multi-gigawatt cryogenic energy storage tech

Highview Power has announced the successful development of its multi-gigawatt cryogenic energy storage system.

The firm says its modular CRYOBattery is highly scalable, can be located anywhere and uses no hazardous materials, unlike pumped hydro-power or compressed air.

It uses liquid air as the storage medium and can offer a variety of services to help balance the grid - these include time-shifting, synchronous voltage support, frequency regulation, synchronous inertia and black start capabilities.

The company claims a 200MW facility could achieve a levelised cost of storage of $140/MWh (£110.5) and claims it would be equivalent in performance to a fossil fuel power station.

Highview Power says the technology could help slash emissions not only by replacing coal and gas facilities but also by enabling grid operators to maximise renewable penetration without needing fossil fuel generation to make up for intermittency.

Javier Cavada, President and CEO of Highview Power, said: "This is a pivotal moment for the renewable energy industry and for anyone who wants to deploy large amounts of renewables.

"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. Not only does our CRYOBattery deliver this reliability and allow scalability — it is proven, cost-effective and available today."