Articles
Centre is expected to progress ‘liquid air’ energy storage technology
The University of Birmingham has won a £6 million grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to create a centre for cryogenic energy storage.
Work at the centre is expected to progress ‘liquid air’ energy storage technology, reducing the costs of integrating intermittent generation into the electricity system. It will be the UK’s first dedicated research facility for energy storage using cryogenic liquids, comprising new labs, test equipment and a demonstration plant.
Professor Richard Williams, pro-vice-chancellor at the University of Birmingham, and lead investigator at the new centre, said: “Energy storage is the missing link in UK energy strategy and is critical to future domestic electrical energy supply and industrial needs. This award is for the groundbreaking technology of using cold liquefied air as a safe, cheap, large-scale energy warehouse. It will also provide the UK’s first research demonstrator plant to enable development of applications for use in the city and region.”
Cryogenic energy storage systems use off-peak electricity to liquefy air. The cryogenic liquid that is formed is stored in a vessel, then vaporised into a gas during an expansion process, which drives a turbine. This could generate electricity when it is most needed; taking off-peak electricity and using it at peak times will solve the ‘wrong-time, wrong-place’ energy generation and supply problem.