POWER June 2021 - 9

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about the environmental agenda " surrounding
power generation today, " and
that's what we can resonate with. If
you really are on a pure ESG [environmental,
social, governance] agenda, the
idea is to say, 'Listen guys, burners can't
be used unless you have an equivalent
fuel.' The infrastructure around the world
has been built on fossil fuels. The idea is
here, we're able to take existing assets
and extend the life of these assets, and
they don't feel under pressure to just say,
'We're going to close up shop.' They can
become more green, and check other
boxes at the same time. "
-Darrell Proctor is associate editor
for POWER.
Market Prospects Heating Up for
Cryogenic Energy Storage
Highview Power, developer of a cryogenic
energy storage system, in April selected
MAN Energy Solutions to provide the
liquid air energy storage (LAES) turbomachinery
train for its 50-MW/250-MWh
CRYOBattery facility that is under construction
in Carrington Village, just outside
Manchester in the UK, and slated to begin
operations in 2022. The development
marks a new, important milestone for
the pioneering LAES project-Highview
Power's first commercial plant. AccordJune
2021 | POWER
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ing to Dr. Javier Cavada, CEO of Highview
Power, the company is now developing
" dozens " of other projects in the UK, the
U.S., Chile, Australia, and Spain, leveraging
substantial interest from a major
Japanese backer, as well as $145 million
in recent investments for growth capital,
funding, and government grants.
Cryogenic energy storage leverages a
thermodynamic cycle to essentially turn
air in its gas phase to liquid when cooled
down to -196C (-320F), Cavada explained
in a recent interview (Figure 3).
The liquid can then be stored efficiently
in heat-insulated, low-pressure vessels.
When heated back up to the ambient
temperature, it undergoes rapid regasification,
prompting a 700-fold expansion
in volume that can then be used to drive
a steam turbine- " really an 'air turbine' "
that is commonly used in steam-generating
power plants, he said.
A big draw for the technology is that
it's mechanical, which means it uses already
mature, off-the-shelf components
sourced from oil and gas liquefaction and
power
generation
original
equipment
manufacturers. " The real innovation is
that it uses engineering processes that
are well known to give them a new application,
which is stored energy, " he said.
While
the company's CRYOBattery
www.powermag.com
3. Highview's cryogenic energy storage system
comprises three primary processes: a
charging system, an energy store, and power
recovery. Courtesy: Highview Power
9
www.clearspan.com
1.866.643.1010
technology derives from a liquid air engine
invented in the early 2000s by engineer
Peter Dearman, it was developed
in partnership with researchers at the
University of Leeds starting in 2005. Between
2011 and 2014, Highview Power
tested the technology at a 350-kW/2.5MWh
pilot plant at SSE's biomass plant
at Slough Heat and Power in Greater
London. Then, in April 2018, in collaboration
with renewable energy firm Viridor, it
began operating a larger, grid-connected
5-MW/15-MWh plant, using low-grade
waste heat from GE Jenbacher gas engines
at the Pilsworth Landfill facility
(Figure 4) in Bury, Greater Manchester,
to demonstrate how cryogenic energy
storage can provide balancing services.
But though its development began
http://www.clearspan.com http://www.powermag.com
POWER June 2021

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