Highview Power has announced plans to construct a commercial cryogenic (liquid air) energy storage plant at a decommissioned thermal power station in North of England.

The 50MW/250MWh project is said to be the first of a portfolio of projects in the UK and is in the process of securing sites. Recharge reports that four similar plants are planned in the UK and five in the USA. The current site already has the necessary grid connection.

Highview said cryogenic plants were not as fast at Li-ion batteries but would have similar characteristics as pumped storage, but would not have the latter’s site limitations. As well as energy storage, it expects to offer services to National Grid ESO to help integrate renewables and stabilise the  grid. The company also promised market arbitrage, frequency management, reserve and grid constraint management services. It is currently in discussions with potential offtakers.

“Long-duration, giga-scale energy storage is the necessary foundation to enable baseload renewable energy and will be key to a 100 per cent carbon free future,” said Cavada Camino. The company claims its technology can be delivered at £110/MWh for a 10-hour, 200MW/2GWh system. It commissioned its first large scale plant last year, a 5MW/15MWh plant in Bury, greater Manchester. It says the technology can deliverfrom  20MW/80 MWh to more than 200MW/1.2GWh, with a lifespan of 30 to 40 years. 

Further reading 

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