The fact that batteries store electricity is a truism. The fact that liquid, minus 196 degrees cold air can do that, should come as a surprise to most. The young company Highview Power from London has proven it. Since 2018, it has operated a demonstration plant at the Pilsworth landfill in the Greater Manchester area that has an output of five megawatts (MW). The company now plans to install a 50 MW system on the site of a former thermal power plant in Northern England.
In the medium term, several of these liquid air batteries are to be distributed across the country. They are intended to ensure that the UK’s electricity grid does not collapse, even if more and more solar and, above all, wind power is fed in – irregularly. In times of excess, the batteries are charged to release their energy in deficient situations.
Charging is done with a chiller. This cools the air until it liquefies at a temperature of minus 196 degrees Celsius. It is collected in large, extremely well insulated tanks. At normal pressure, the blue liquid can be stored for weeks without the need to add new energy.
If the grid is overloaded, insufficient electricity is fed in, because the calm and darkness prevails, the air is converted into electricity. To do this, it must first be warmed up slightly so that it becomes gaseous again. In doing so, it expands 700 times and develops enormous forces that drive a turbogenerator to generate electricity.
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Some of the heat comes from the chiller. It is stored in a well-insulated tank in the form of hot water or another medium and called up when required. However, since it is not enough, additional heat must be fed in. At Pilsworth, it comes from the exhaust gases of engines that run on landfill gas and drive generators to generate electricity.
The first commercial facility in Northern England can store 250 megawatt hours (MWh). This is enough for the annual needs of 62,500 households. The liquid air battery costs around 50 million euros. However, the next plants are likely to become cheaper. Normal lithium-ion batteries, which are also used to stabilize the power grid, are actually more expensive when they are installed.
What is even more important is that their capacity diminishes over time. They need to be replaced after 10 or 15 years. In contrast, the liquid air system will not have lost any of its performance even after 40 years. It also consists of inexpensive everyday materials. Batteries, on the other hand, require relatively rare lithium and other expensive and sometimes even toxic materials.
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