CRYOBattery Grid-Scale Energy Storage Featured in Bloomberg Businessweek

The need for long-duration, grid-scale energy storage is rapidly becoming an immediate necessity with the accelerating deployment of renewables around the globe. As wind and solar contribute more and more energy demands, the capacity to store that energy for future use becomes more pressing. As a result, we are seeing innovative energy storage technologies emerge for a future powered by 100% renewable energy.

At Highview Power, we see all renewable energy storage technologies as sharing in that vision and we embrace every effort to make it a reality. We know that it will take a collaboration of different technologies to achieve that goal as each technology has its own benefits and will contribute in its own way.

Some of these technologies, including the CRYOBattery™, were recently featured in a BusinessWeek article exploring alternatives for grid-scale storage. “Even the best lithium-ion batteries stink at storing the large amounts of electricity a massive wind or solar installation is capable of generating.”

The industry is taking note of Highview Power’s innovative cryogenic energy storage system and is placing it among the most promising. With this blog, we wanted to look at why Highview Power is uniquely positioned to lead the way to a cleaner, safer energy future.

We are confident that CRYOBattery™ will have a tremendous impact on the future of energy storage because we have designed our technology around several factors that are very important for grid-scale energy storage capabilities: immediacy, location flexibility, scalability, abundance, environmental sensitivity, and capacity.

IMMEDIACY

Having a grid-scale energy storage technology that is mature enough to begin rapid deployment will be critical to the continued growth in renewable energy deployments. A CRYOBattery™ plant can begin construction today because it relies on mature components already in use across industries. Since it does not rely on the fabrication of components on site, the need for environmental alterations, or technologies still in the development stage, the rapid deployment of a CRYOBattery™ system is possible. Further, Highview Power has facilities already operating in the UK and our technology is expanding globally, making access to grid-scale energy storage available today.

LOCATION FLEXIBILITY

The problem with many energy storage technologies is their dependence on either natural or man-made geographic features. Whether that is vast geographic elevation changes, deep holes in the earth, or the technology’s proximity to water. To be truly deployable on a global scale, energy storage technologies need to have the flexibility of being deployed at the point of demand with no geographic constraints. It is in this respect that the CRYOBattery™ is a technology that will have a profound global impact. Energy storage that is deployable where it is needed most will be critical to stability in a renewable grid and delivering power where access is limited.

SCALABILITY

Hand in hand with location flexibility is the scalability of the technology. Different regions have varying demand needs and a one-size-fits-all approach is not appropriate for regional energy needs. Therefore, it is critical that deployed grid-scale, energy storage technologies are scalable to suit the individual energy demands of the locations they serve. Highview Power’s CRYOBattery™ is a technology that provides the flexibility to service both rural and urban centers with much needed energy access. Having each phase of the CRYOBattery™ technology scalable for the production, storage, or distribution of energy enables Highview Power to deliver the appropriate amount of energy where it is needed and offers each location the ability to expand their energy storage assets as demand increases.

ABUNDANCE

Not only are the components in our technology sufficiently available, but our “fuel” is as well—air. By utilizing a resource that is equally abundant around the world, CRYOBattery™ is uniquely poised to be the most widely adopted grid-scale energy storage system. When your goal is to change the way the world is energized, the abundance and availability of the resources you need is vital. Our technology uses ambient air to store energy—our “fuel” does not have to be mined or fabricated and it is not damaged or altered in our technology. In fact, air discharged from the system is even cleaner than when it entered the system.

ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY

Part of the goal of shifting to a grid powered by 100% renewables is to curtail the environmental ramifications of relying on fossil fuels for our energy needs—not only are those resources finite but they are wasteful of other resources (like water), their emissions are concerning, and finding them comes at significant environmental costs. At Highview Power, we want to have the greatest impact on the grid with the least environmental impact possible. We designed the CRYOBattery™ to use only benign materials and to be a zero emissions technology. That is what sets our technology apart: we do not rely on digging holes, repurposing mines or caverns, vast elevation changes, or unnecessarily using resources in the storage of energy—all that the CRYOBattery™ needs is air and a grid connection.

CAPACITY

With energy demand increasing around the world, it is critical that energy storage technologies have the capacity to accommodate consumer needs. Capacity is the fundamental quantity for grid-scale energy storage. Just as energy demand is not static, capacity should not be either—capacity should be dynamic in its scalability. That is why we designed the CRYOBattery™ to be scalable to store anywhere from days to weeks of energy, and can scale to multiple gigawatt hours of energy storage. Our scalability does not rely on large-scale renovations or having to build adjacent facilities. Every stage of our technology is independently scalable with the addition of readily available commercial components, rendering the CRYOBattery™ unique to grid-scale energy storage technologies.

CONCLUSION

Innovation happens when thinking outside of the box—that is exactly what we have been doing at Highview Power. We believe that we will quickly establish ourselves as the industry leader for large-scale clean, reliable, and cost-efficient long duration energy storage to enable an energy grid powered by 100% renewable energies. With a lifespan of 30-40 years, the CRYOBattery™ will allow for a renewable-centric baseload power source for decades to come. While other technologies will certainly have a significant role in our shared vision, Highview Power’s CRYOBattery™ will continue to lead the way in accelerating the transition to renewable energy and changing the way we think about—and use—renewables.