Media Archive 2010/2011 | Highview Power Storage

December 2011, Electricity Storage Association

HIGHVIEW POWER STORAGE HOPES TOP INDUSTRY AWARD WILL HELP PUT UK ENERGY

Energy storage is seen as the key enabling technology for the low carbon grid. With our dash for green electricity, the deployment of wind farms has already outstripped the ability of many Grids throughout the world to integrate this uncontrollable source of energy. It is now agreed that electricity grids need long duration, large scale energy storage to support the deployment of renewable but intermittent generation; capturing and time-shift wrong time energy. In fact in China alone they predict they need 60GWs of storage this decade alone, while the UK estimates it needs to double the size of its reserve.

23 December 2011, The Engineer

The Engineer’s Top 10 Technologies of 2011

2. Liquid air energy storage

Using liquid air or nitrogen as an energy carrier, either to store electricity or as a vehicle fuel, isn’t a new idea, but creating a viable and efficient commercial technology to do this has been an elusive goal for many years.

14 December 2011, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

EPSRC-supported projects win major awards

Energy storage project wins major award

An innovative energy storage project co-developed by EPSRC-supported researchers at the University of Leeds has won the ultimate accolade at The Engineer magazine’s 2011 Technology and Innovation Awards. The team won this year’s Grand Prix, and was also winner of the Energy category. Two other EPSRC-sponsored projects won their respective categories.

Working with project partner, Highview Power Storage, the Leeds team co-designed and lab-tested a novel cryogenic energy storage system that stores off-peak energy, using liquefied air as the storage medium.

07 December 2011, New Energy and Fuel

Better Storage Than a Battery

A liquid nitrogen powered engine could provide an energy storage alternative to batteries and fuel cells. Such an engine is driven by the pressure created as liquid nitrogen (LN2) returns to its gas form and could provide a way of powering a vehicle with a longer range and faster refueling than a battery without producing any noxious tailpipe emissions.

06 December 2011, Leeds University

Energy storage project wins major award

An innovative energy storage project co-developed by researchers at the University of Leeds has won the ultimate accolade at The Engineer magazine’s 2011 Technology and Innovation Awards.

Working with project partner, Highview Power Storage , the Leeds team led by Professor Yulong Ding (SPEME), co-designed and lab-tested a novel cryogenic energy storage system that stores off-peak energy, using liquefied air as the storage medium. The project won this year’s Energy Award as well as the Grand Prix.

02 December 2011, The Engineer

The 2011 Energy & Environment Winner – CES

Cryogenic energy storage (CES) pilot plant

Highview Power Storage, Scottish and Southern Energy, BOC/Linde, University of Leeds

Energy storage is critical if we are serious about replacing fossil fuels with renewable electricity sources. One of the key problems with wind, wave and solar power is their intermittency, so matching the unreliable supply of green electricity to our demand requires an intermediate step so we can save the energy in some form for when we need it. Additionally, those countries whose traditional infrastructure is struggling to meet demand could benefit hugely from a back-up system to help accommodate peak consumption.

02 December 2011, The Engineer

2011 Technology and Innovation Award Winners Revealed

The Engineer is pleased to announce the winners of the Technology and Innovation awards for 2011.

Held at the Royal Society and hosted by Liz Bonnin, the awards celebrate collaborative engineering projects that have, or are likely to have, a significant impact on the sectors they are active in.

01 November 2011, DPA Magazine

Large scale Energy Storage

Highview Power Storage’s system uses liquid air as the storage medium and can be scaled to 100MWs/GWhs of storage, similar to medium scale pumped hydro. But liquid air can easily be stored in the same low pressure tanks as used by the LNG industry – it is hundreds of times more energy dense than water (therefore taking up far less space) – and the process does not need large mountains or lakes, like some pumped storage systems.

27 October 2011, Electricity Storage Association

UK Company Showcases Novel, Large Scale Energy Storage System.

Over the coming months energy teams from the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change through to grid operators and utilities from UK, Europe and further afield are visiting a small site adjoining Scottish & Southern Energy’s biomass power plant on Slough trading estate west of London. They are there to see the world’s first pilot plant of a liquid air energy storage system, owned and operated by Highview Power Storage, a UK energy storage developer. This, they believe, could be the answer to the big problem many power grids are facing – what do we do about wrong-time wind energy?

24 October 2011, Environment Times

A London Industrial estate’s pilot plant may solve costly problem of ‘wrong time’ wind energy

Wind turbines creating power for the national electricity grid at the wrong time is costing the country millions of pounds. And that’s a prime reason why UK Government ministers will be making visits to a London industrial estate next to a power plant that reckons it has cracked the problem through widely available energy storage.

21 October 2011, Professional Engineering

Novel energy storage technology demonstrated to government officials

Officials from the Department of Energy and Climate Change visited a “world first” liquid-air energy pilot plant adjacent to a biomass power station in west London earlier this month, it has emerged.

12 September 2011, Plant Engineer

World’s first liquid air energy storage plant uses Atlas Copco

Using cheap, off-peak electricity, the CryoEnergy System pilot plant operates by extracting ambient air from the surrounding environment.

Rob Morgan chief technology officer at Highview, explains that the gas is cleaned, compressed and then cooled until it liquefies. Liquefied air is then stored in an insulated tank at -196° C.

05 September 2011, Process and Control Today

Atlas Copco compressors form integral part of world’s first liquid air energy storage plant

The liquefaction stage is accomplished by integrating Atlas Copco compressors within Highview’s 300kW/2.5MWh CryoEnergy System. A fully-integrated, oil-free ZR 700 VSD water-cooled screw compressor, with specially modified inlet pipework, operates within the recirculation system while the main air feed for the liquefaction plant is supplied by a ZR 250 VSD rotary screw compressor. The Atlas Copco installation is completed with a low-pressure ZS45+ VSD blower.

05 September 2011, The Engineer

Compressors for world’s first liquid air energy storage plant

Slough, UK – Atlas Copco compressors are being employed in a new cryogenic process developed by Highview Power Storage to store off-peak electric energy by liquefying air.

Using off-peak electricity, the Highview CryoEnergy System pilot plant operates by extracting ambient air from the surrounding environment: the gas is cleaned, compressed by Atlas Copco compressors, and then cooled until the air undergoes a phase change to a liquid. The liquefied air is stored in an insulated tank at a temperature of −196° C.

September 2011, Energy World

Cold Storage

Being able to store energy in large quantities is seen as the key to accommodating ever more intermittent power generation onto the grid, and storage is also very useful working alongside CHP plants. Here, David Strahan describes a new technology option currently under development.

Read more: David Strahan blog

Read more: Energy World

29 June 2011, clean Biz Asia

Deals signals greater Sino-British co-operation on green economy

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s calls for Britain and China to work together on the green economy and jointly pursue sustainable development bore fruit yesterday when trade deals worth USD4.3 billion were signed by Wen and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

In another sign of increased economic co-operation between the two nations in the cleantech space, is a UK and Chinese collaboration announced yesterday will deliver the world’s first pilot “cryogenic energy storage” plant in the south-east of the UK.

The system, designed with scientists from the University of Leeds, uses liquefied air to store off-peak energy which the developers say can be used on a utility scale and is significantly cheaper than batteries. The energy storage technology has been developed by UK company Highview Power Storage and the demonstration site in Slough is due to be operational next month.

29 June 2011, Greenbang

Unique liquid air energy storage pilot plant to open soon

The UK and China are collaborating to deliver the first-ever pilot demonstration of a liquid air energy storage system.

The cryogenic energy storage plant being built near London by Highview Power Storage is scheduled to become operational next month. Engineers from the Chinese manufacturers of the technology are currently on-site to help with commissioning.

20 June 2011, The Energy Event 2011

Utility-scale energy storage

While National Grid this week recognises the role for energy storage to support a secure, low carbon electricity network, a UK technology development company, Highview Power Storage, has been quietly getting on and building a pilot demonstration plant connected to the Grid.

14 June 2011, DPA

Motor turns generator in new power storage facility

Renewable energy is intermittent and as the infrastructure grows, energy storage systems must be available to fill gaps in the supply or to meet high peak demand. A novel way of storing electric power has been developed by Highview Power Storage. The company’s ‘CryoEnergy’ system runs during low-tariff periods and uses the cheap electricity to operate an air liquefaction plant, storing the liquefied air in an insulated tank at -196oC.

24 May 2011, EcoFriend

Future perfect: Affordable solutions to store excess renewable energy

Whenever there is a demand for power, the liquid nitrogen is heated in a heat exchanger such that a high pressure gas is generated that in turn drives a turbine to generate power. The best thing about this technology is that the heat pump can be operated without any chemical or refrigerant.

13 May 2011, Sueddeutsche.de (German)

Eine sehr kalte Lösung

Ökostrom steht häufig nur sehr unregelmäßig zur Verfügung. Britische Forscher setzen nun auf eine mehr als hundert Jahre alte Technologie, um überschüssigen Strom zu speichern – in flüssiger Luft.

05 May 2011, Bulletins Electroniques (French)

Un autre mode de stockage de l’énergie

Le stockage de l’électricité représente un enjeu à part entière. Il s’agit déjà d’une thématique importante liée à l’irrégularité de la consommation électrique, mais son importance est vouée à augmenter à mesure que la production d’électricité elle-même verra sa régularité affectée par la pénétration des énergies renouvelables.

28 April 2011, ENDS Report

Electricity storage struggles to add up

The UK’s first major electricity storage projects for decades are under construction. But are they actually needed to manage future renewables challenges? Alex Marshall reports

28 March 2011, Wiredin

Motor key to novel power storage scheme

A motor from ABB is the key to a power storage scheme that uses a croygenic process to store energy. The CryoEnergy system, developed by Highview Power Storage, uses cheap-rate electricity to operate an air liquefaction plant, storing the liquefied air in an insulated tank at -196ºC.

Read more: http://www.wirein.co.uk/?p=778

20 March 2011, Discovery News

Liquid Air Stores Renewable Energy

Renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar power are intermittent. The wind doesn’t always blow; the sun doesn’t always shine. But power grids need uninterrupted, reliable flows of energy in order to guarantee electricity to masses. If renewable energy is to come online with coal and natural gas, it can’t be sporadic. That means it needs to be efficiently stored so it can be utilized on cloudy, windless days and at night.

Britain’s Highview Power Storage has developed an unusual way to store energy generated by wind and sunlight: liquid air. Sound cool? It is, quite literally.

17 March 2011, Gizmag

CryoEnergy System uses liquid air to store energy

Balancing demand for energy with timely production is a juggling act that is particularly relevant to renewable sources such as wind and solar. Because the wind isn’t always blowing and the sun isn’t always shining, the energy produced by these systems needs to be stored efficiently so it can be used when it’s needed. While some scientists are looking into storing such energy by converting it to natural gas, Britain’s Highview Power Storage has its own approach, which is already in use in a pilot project. In a nutshell, the company is storing excess energy as liquid air.

17 March 2011, Membrana (Russian)

Испытано промышленное хранение энергии в жидком воздухе

Британская компания Highview Power Storage в течение последних девяти месяцев проводила первую фазу испытаний пилотной установки CryoEnergy System (CES). Она призвана помогать обычной тепловой электростанции во время пиков энергопотребления, сглаживая нагрузку на основное оборудование.

16 March 2011, Eco Blog.it (Italian)

Unità di azoto liquido per programmare le fonti rinnovabili

De pilotinstallatie beschikt over een tank waarin zestig ton stikstof is opgeslagen. Peters: ‘Dat is een opslagcapaciteit van 6 MWh.’ Eind volgend jaar wil Highview Power Storage een commerciële cryogene installatie in gebruik nemen met een vermogen van 3.5 MW.

13 March 2011, Technisch Weekblad (Dutch)

Britten slaan elektriciteit in koude op

Detto ciò vorrei segnalare un importante filone di ricerca messo a punto dalla società britannica Highview Power Storage che merita di essere seguito con attenzione visto che potrebbe dare importanti risposte sul cruccio delle rinnovabili, ovvero sul fatto di non poter programmare la loro produzione energetica per via della loro aleatorietà.

03 March 2011, Ison21 (Spanish)

Almacenamiento de energía en aire líquido

Una empresa inglesa de criogénia, Highview Power Storage, está probando un innovador sistema de almacenamiento de energía que puede alcanzar una eficiencia de hasta el 70%, a un coste de 1.000 dólares por kilovatio: el aire líquido.

02 March 2011, CleanTechnica/Scientific American

Liquid Air Tested to Store Renewable Energy in UK

Yet another innovative way to store renewable energy is being tested in the UK by a cryogenic company, Highview Power Storage, whose liquid air energy storage could be up to 70% efficient and cost just $1,000 per kilowatt.

28 February 2011, New Scientist

Power of cool: Liquid air to store clean energy

We are on an industrial estate in Slough in the UK, on the grounds of a 100-megawatt biomass plant owned by energy firm Scottish and Southern. But what we’ve come to see is the small cluster of containers and a gleaming white liquid nitrogen tank tucked away in one corner of the site. Here Morgan, chief engineer at Highview Power Storage, London, and his colleagues have been running a pilot plant designed to store potential energy in the form of liquid air.

22 February 2011, The Engineer

Cryogenic energy stroage plant could provide valuable back-up

The UK’s first cryogenic power storage plant, which uses liquid nitrogen to store and release energy, is scheduled to open next month.

11 February 2011, Plant Engineer

New power storage method uses ABB motor

A revolutionary new way of storing electric power, developed by Highview Power Storage, uses a cryogenic process to store energy.

31 October 2010, The Sunday Times

How to store power in a freezer

A British pilot scheme will store surplus renewable energy until it is needed, offering a solution to the problem of power surges and lulls.

26 March 2010, The Green House

DECC grant winners: a closer look

Eight companies and their collaborative partners have been given grants by the Department of Energy and Climate Change today to explore smart technology.

26 March 2010, The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC)

Cash for companies to start building smart cities

The projects are spread across a range of various technologies supporting smart grid development including storage, distribution load management, demand response controls and a network platform for a future smart grid site in Glasgow. The grants will support smart grid development to a total value of £7.6 million.