The Liquid Air Alternative To Fossil Fuels
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
An overlooked technology for nearly 50 years, the first liquid air energy storage facility is finally set to power up in 2026. It’s hoping to compete with grid-scale lithium batteries and hydro to store clean power, and reduce the need to fall back on fossil fuels.
These three introductory paragraphs add more details.
s the world’s use of renewable electricity soars, surpassing coal for the first time, the need to store that energy when the Sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing is growing in step. While some turn to grid-scale lithium batteries and others to pumped hydro, a small but growing industry is convinced there’s a better solution still: batteries that rely on air.
Near the village of Carrington in north-west England, the foundations are being laid for the world’s first commercial-scale liquid air energy storage facility. The site will eventually become an array of industrial machinery and a number of large storage tanks, filled with air that has been compressed and cooled so much it has become a liquid, using renewable energy surplus to demand. The stored energy can be discharged later when demand exceeds supply.
If the project succeeds, more will follow. The site’s developers Highview Power are confident that liquid air energy storage will make it easier for countries to replace fossil fuels with clean renewable energy – though at present, the technology is expensive. But as the need for clean energy storage surges, they’re betting the balance will tip in favour of liquid air.
Where this article about Highview Power is different, as it gives various details on the efficiency, return and of liquid air energy storage systems.
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