Highview Power has selected MAN Energy Solutions to provide its liquid air energy storage (LAES) turbomachinery solution to for Highview’s CRYOBattery facility, a 50 MW liquid-air, energy-storage facility – with a minimum of 250 MWh – located in Manchester, UK.
The LAES plant uses cryogenically-liquefied air as a medium for storing energy. It is especially suitable for special applications that require large amounts of energy over a discharge time of several hours, and enables fluctuating, renewable sources to bear base-loads. The MAN turbomachinery train will form the core of the CRYOBattery facility that, upon completion, will form one of Europe’s largest battery-storage systems.
Construction of the CRYOBattery began in late 2020 with commercial operation scheduled for 2022. Highview Power will operate the facility in partnership with Carlton Power, a UK independent power-station developer.
Construction will proceed in two phases. Phase 1 will involve the installation of a ‘stability island’, to provide near-instantaneous energy grid stabilisation. This will be achieved using a generator and flywheel, among other components. Enabling short-term stabilisation will provide the basis for Phase 2 and the completion of the more complex liquid air energy storage system that includes various compressors, air expanders and cryogenic equipment.
Phase 2 will the integrate the stability services with a full-scale long-duration energy storage system, and in doing so promote the full integration of renewable energy. The Carrington project is anticipated to offer a blueprint for future projects and cement the partnership between MAN Energy Solutions and Highview Power.
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