Hydrogen CAES™
technology
Storelectric’s Hydrogen CAES™ is a cost-effective, efficient technology which is – by definition – hydrogen ready, and will help power the Hydrogen economy of the future.
Our CAES™ solutions tackle grid instability, allowing sovereign nations to transition away from fossil fuels and interconnectors, and achieve energy independence.
Hydrogen CAES™ ENERGY STORAGE ALLOWS RENEWABLES TO POWER THE FUTURE
If renewable energy production is low, conventional power plants step in to meet the demand.
Storing excess energy is how we move away from this reliance on fossil fuels to keep the grid stable.
Currently, there are only two energy storage technologies which have been proven in the long term; one being Compressed Air Storage Systems (CAES) which stands alone in its ability to store Hydrogen at the correct pressure.
Other technologies are evolving, but are severely hampered by lifetime issues, size, and duration limitations.
Hydrogen & CAES
COMBINED Projects
HYDROGEN CAES HYBRID
THE BEST OF BOTH
Our Hydrogen CAES™ can increase plant’s efficiencies and lower their operating costs during the transition away from fossil fuels to a Hydrogen economy, whilst our Green CAES technology enables renewables to power the grid with zero emissions.
For a truly flexible solution with the lowest costs and highest efficiencies, we have also developed a Hybrid system which can switch between Green CAES™ and Hydrogen CAES™ – burning fuels only when energy stores are depleted.
HYDROGEN PRODUCTION
AN OPTIMAL ENVIRONMENT
Electrolysis (and fuel/chemical synthesis) do not operate as efficiently when powered intermittently. By including CAES in a renewables & hydrogen project, we can deliver near-baseload energy to the electrolysers, as well as high-value services to the electricity grid, and can do so very cost-effectively.
HOW HYDROGEN CAES WORKS
CAES™ is a proven energy storage solution; it has been in operation since 1978 in Huntorf in Germany, and since 1992 in McIntosh, Alabama, USA. Both plants store compressed air in underground salt caverns, ready to be expanded when required.
However, they both regenerate electricity by feeding it into a gas-fired power station.
OUR HYDROGEN CAES TECHNOLOGY USES A COMBINED CYCLE POWER PLANT (CCGT) SYSTEM TOO, BUT WITH THE MAJOR DEVELOPMENT THAT IT CAN BURN HYDROGEN INSTEAD.
Until sufficient hydrogen is available at suitable prices, it can burn methane or any mix of hydrogen and methane, and will decarbonise as the energy transition progresses.
The hydrogen could be obtained either from the gas grid (which, in many countries, will be converted to carry hydrogen and, intermediately, mixes of hydrogen and methane) or dedicated production such as by on-site or near-site electrolysers.
HYDROGEN CAES™ TECHNOLOGY
- The only technology able to convert power stations to CAES
- Bulk energy storage 20MW to multi-GW power, and 4 hours to multi-day duration
- Maximized flexibility providing load shifting, grid balancing, ancillary services and T&D deferral solutions
- 24-hour voltage support, emergency power, black start, and power quality conditioning
- Allows the replacement of fossil fuel generation with low cost renewable energy, cutting or eliminating emissions
- Also flexible consumption, providing Demand Turn-Up and related balancing services
- Renewable energy on demand at a lower cost than diesel / OCGT power
- Co-location with output cables for major renewable generation or interconnectors reduces grid connection capital costs and grid access charges, and maximises revenues.
- Time shift generation to maximise project economics and provide risk mitigation during triads
- Eliminate curtailment of low marginal cost renewable energy at times of low demand
- Baseload or peaking plant designs sized to cover peak demand periods
- Electrical independence for islands, micro-grids, and off-grid locations
- Co-location with renewables also enables the generator to avoid grid access charges on its output energy, storage to avoid them on charging energy and storage to avoid capital costs of grid connections
- New transmission and distribution lines, substation capacity and other assets have long lead time, are expensive, and challenging to permit
- Maximise existing T&D capacity by utilising capacity bringing power through transmission bottlenecks to charge during off-peak times
- During peak demand times, inject electricity from storage after the T&D bottleneck, to supply market on the load side
- Co-location with renewables benefits grids by greatly reducing reinforcement and adding real inertia 24/7
- Provides flexible generation and reliable back-up power for critical areas and infrastructure
- Repurpose existing coal plants by leveraging location and existing infrastructure
- Re-purpose existing CCGT/OCGT by leveraging location and existing infrastructure
- Such re-purposing gives new life to otherwise stranded assets by adding revenue streams, reducing emissions and (as price volatility increases) reducing operational costs
- Co location of storage with renewable generators allows better use of under-utilised T&D infrastructure
- Repurposing existing salt caverns currently used for natural gas storage for improved economics
- Repurposing of other underground storage assets such as aquifers, depleted hydrocarbon fields, disused mines, porous inclusions.