Highview Power Storage and renewable energy developer Encore Renewable Energy jointly announced plans to develop the United States’ first long duration, liquid air energy storage system. This facility will be a minimum of 50 MW, provide in excess of eight hours of storage (400 MWh) and will be located in northern Vermont.
The project is the first of many utility-scale, liquid air energy storage projects that Highview Power plans to develop across the United States to help scale up renewable energy deployment. The Vermont facility will contribute to resolving the longstanding energy transmission challenges surrounding the state’s Sheffield-Highgate Export Interface (SHEI) and enable the efficient transport of excess power from renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power to help integrate them on the power grid.
In addition to supplying clean, reliable, and cost-efficient energy storage, the facility to be developed by Highview Power and Encore will provide valuable services to the area’s transmission system to help integrate renewable energy, stabilize the regional electrical grid, and ensure future energy security during storms and other disruptions. This includes the ability to store energy for weeks at the lowest levelized cost of long duration storage in the industry, and providing what is called “grid-synchronous inertia,” which balances electrical demand and supply and helps avoid blackouts. Other services the facility can deliver include market arbitrage, frequency management, reserve, and grid constraint management services. Highview Power and Encore are in discussions with potential utility and transmission grid operator customers regarding the capabilities and services the facility can provide.
Salvatore Minopoli, vice president of Highview Power USA, said the company has strategically sought U.S. partners that are renewable energy market leaders with experience in developing large-scale projects. “With their expertise in community-scale solar PV systems, traditional battery storage applications and solutions for the redevelopment of under-utilized properties, Encore Renewable Energy is a perfect partner for us as we continue expanding our technology in the United States,” Minopoli said.
“We are excited to deploy our first long duration energy storage system in the United States. It is wonderful to partner with a company that shares our vision for a healthier environment and a sustainable economy,” commented Javier Cavada, CEO of Highview Power.
“Highview Power’s patented technology offers a unique, cost effective solution for unleashing a greater amount of cost-efficient renewable energy generation in transmission constrained areas,” said Chad Farrell, Founder and CEO of Encore Renewable Energy. “It will also allow for fewer curtailments and provide important energy balancing services for the rapidly evolving modern grid; all of which are extremely important as we look to build the infrastructure required to support a robust clean energy economy.”
With Highview Power’s liquid air energy storage solution, excess or off-peak electricity is used to clean and compress air which is then stored in liquid form in insulated tanks at temperatures approaching -320° F (-196° C). When electricity is in high demand and more valuable, the pressurized gas is allowed to warm, turning a turbine as it expands and thus generating energy that can be used at peak times when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing.
Highview Power’s proprietary liquid air energy storage system, called CRYOBattery, relies on low-risk, proven technology, generates zero emissions, has zero water impact and can be delivered at a cost of approximately half of the current cost of traditional lithium-ion batteries. At utility-scale, Highview Power’s long duration energy storage systems paired with renewables are equivalent in performance to fossil fuel powered thermal and nuclear baseload power.
News item from Highview
One can find claims online and in other technical articles on this “Cryobattery”. The problem is no one quotes the round trip efficiency of the storage (system). It is still using electricity to compress into a liquid to later allow it to expand to drive a ‘mechanical’ turbine generation system. Even if this is an open cycle generation system, there will be a power loss in total when the liquid air is running through the turbine. So, is this loss the same as a fueled steam type generation system? Does this system lose 40% of the input as lost energy when the air flashes from liquid to compressed gas as it goes through the turbine? Many questions, is it a closed system or open system? If a closed system, after the initial charging of the liquid air tanks, then there would have to be larger expansion tanks to hold the air after it turns the turbine to generate power. A closed system may not use as much energy in round trip, if it still stays below zero Centigrade. If the system is an open system, then it all depends on the efficiency of the turbine/generator combination and the pumps used to compress the air to the required -320 degrees Fahrenheit to store the energy. Does the turbine/generator act as both compressor and generator in this system?
The Highview site mentions heat and cold recovery storage and also shows Air in and Air out. So, it’s some kind of hybrid system. They mention energy density as a storage medium, but no round trip energy efficiency in the process. They claim off the shelf components and 30 plus years of useful life from the plant and no comparison in $/kWh of energy storage constructed as compared to other energy storage systems. Highview also mentions a 200MW/1.2GWh storage system, just how much real estate does this size plant take up?
Also on the Highview website, there is an article that claims in large scale installations, mentioned 200MW/2.0GWh of storage the LCOE is $140/MWh. Unfortunately LAZARD (4.0) addresses lithium ion, lead/acid and flow battery energy storage, but nothing on liquid air storage $/MWh.