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Hydrostor, a startup focusing on energy storage, has received grants from the Australian government to proceed with plans to build a small scale mechanical battery in a disused zinc mine.
The installation will be the company's second, following an earlier installation in Canada. Both systems use compressed air as a storage mechanism for electricity generated from renewable means, something which has been a problem for the expansion of renewable energy as a whole.
Traditional batteries require expensive, volatile chemical whose extraction generally causes significant environmental damage. Renewable energy generation requires huge batteries because demand and supply are rarely aligned, creating a feast or famine cycle where either too much or too little power is available as demand changes.
Mechanical batteries are the future, however building them at scale, without creating massive maintenance issues or horrible inefficiencies, has proved to be a problem.
Hydrostor's system compresses air at times of excess energy production, capturing the heat released in the compression process; and then uses the heat to decompress the air at times of high demand. The air is used to drive turbines which generate electricity.
The Australian system is rated for just 10MWh, but it's seen as a proof of concept which could change the face of South Australia's energy landscape significantly. There's huge potential for solar generation in the state and having storage capacity to make use of it could make South Australia the engine room which powers the rest of the country.
The installation will be the company's second, following an earlier installation in Canada. Both systems use compressed air as a storage mechanism for electricity generated from renewable means, something which has been a problem for the expansion of renewable energy as a whole.
Traditional batteries require expensive, volatile chemical whose extraction generally causes significant environmental damage. Renewable energy generation requires huge batteries because demand and supply are rarely aligned, creating a feast or famine cycle where either too much or too little power is available as demand changes.
Mechanical batteries are the future, however building them at scale, without creating massive maintenance issues or horrible inefficiencies, has proved to be a problem.
Hydrostor's system compresses air at times of excess energy production, capturing the heat released in the compression process; and then uses the heat to decompress the air at times of high demand. The air is used to drive turbines which generate electricity.
The Australian system is rated for just 10MWh, but it's seen as a proof of concept which could change the face of South Australia's energy landscape significantly. There's huge potential for solar generation in the state and having storage capacity to make use of it could make South Australia the engine room which powers the rest of the country.
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