Highview Launches Second Phase of its Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) Programme with 2.5GWH Power Plant at Hunterston, Ayshire

First Minister meets Highview Power Executives as project launch promises to deliver a major boost for the region, underpinning Scottish renewables generation and transforming grid stability.

London, 15 October 2024: The First Minister for Scotland, John Swinney MSP, welcomed Highview Power Executives to Scotland House in London today as the company announced its intention to develop its Hunterston project in Scotland as part of its multi-billion-pound LDES programme. Hunterston will deliver five times Scotland’s current operational battery storage capacity and is strategically placed in the grid transmission network to maximise the use of Scottish-produced renewable electricity. This follows Highview Power’s funding round in June where it secured a £300 million investment for its 300MWh proprietary Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) technology at Carrington, near Manchester.

Supported by the Scottish Government, Hunterston is the first project in Highview Power’s second phase, which comprises four projects across Scotland and Northern England. The 2.5GWh LAES plant at Hunterston will deliver an 8-fold increase in storage capacity on Carrington – to deliver enough power 650,000 homes for 12.5 hours.

“The creation of the largest liquid air energy facility in the world, in Ayrshire, demonstrates just how valuable Scotland is in delivering a low carbon future as well as supporting the global transition to net zero, said John Swinney, following the meeting. “Scotland presents a unique environment for innovation and deployment of storage technologies and this ground-breaking project will bring hundreds of high skilled jobs to the region both during construction and afterwards in supporting the supply chain.”

Located on Peel Ports site in North Ayrshire, Highview Power has already successfully secured the developing rights for Hunterston. The plant will be built in two stages; the first will be the grid connection and works to provide grid stability services; the second phase will be a full LAES build-out – the planning process will now commence for the second phase. The Hunterston project will support 1,000 jobs onsite during construction and 650 jobs in the supply chain.

“We were delighted to meet the First Minister today, and thrilled to announce our next project in Hunterston, the first of four, which kick starts our multi-billion-pound LDES programme across the UK to unlock 10GWh of LDES”, Richard Butland, Chief Executive at Highview Power, said. “This project will be transformational for Scotland in providing critical storage for offshore wind and solving grid constraints as well as delivering major investment in Ayrshire, and the wider region.”

“It is fantastic to see our partners at Highview Power expanding with their new project at Hunterston,” said Chris O’Shea, Group Chief Executive, Centrica, “Long Duration Energy Storage will be vital to unlocking the UK’s energy potential, and Highview’s technology will be a key part of that. With innovation and investment, the UK will achieve its ambitious net zero goals.”

Julian Leslie, Director of Strategic Energy Planning and Chief Engineer, NESO, added: “Technology such as Highview Power’s LDES proposals will quite simply unlock the power of renewable energy in our energy system, stabilise our grid system, and allow for the delivery of a 100% zero carbon electricity system. In our Holistic Transition Pathway, we have identified a 81GWh requirement for LDES by 2030 to decarbonise the grid and this announcement paves the way to realise this goal.”

Highview Power’s programme of four will also include a project in Aberdeenshire, strategically positioned to support the onshoring of renewable energy resources from the North Sea and the critical need for grid stability at this location. Further details on this next phase will be forthcoming over the coming months.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s (DESNZ’s) recently announced investment support scheme will provide further momentum to technologies such as Highview Powers’ helping to unlock investment and accelerate decarbonisation plans.

Highview Power’s June funding round was led by the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) and the British multinational energy and services company Centrica, alongside a syndicate of investors including Sumitomo, Rio Tinto, Goldman Sachs, KIRKBI and Mosaic Capital.