For decades, the UK’s energy security relied on fossil fuels. Oil and gas could be dispatched to match demand precisely. However, this stability came at a heavy cost; fossil fuels released vast amounts of harmful emissions, driving global heating.
In 2025, the UK can run on 100% renewable energy for extended periods. This transition means energy storage is essential. Without it, a renewables-based system cannot provide the resilience, flexibility, and reliability needed to guarantee national energy security.
Why Energy Storage Is Vital for Energy Security
Energy storage captures surplus renewable power, creating a dispatchable supply which can be returned to the grid when needed. This strengthens the grid in three main ways: enhancing stability, providing strategic reserves, and improving resilience against blackouts. Crucially, energy storage also reduces reliance on imported power, insulating the UK from volatile gas markets and fluctuating international prices. By transforming intermittent renewable energy into dependable supply, storage underpins a secure, self-reliant energy system.
The Role of Different Storage Durations
Short-Duration Storage
Lithium-ion and flow batteries are the UK’s most common short-duration storage solutions. With more than 4 GW already in operation and over 30 GW in the pipeline, batteries are the first line of defence against frequency deviations, generator trips, or interconnector failures. Their efficiency and rapid response make them vital to maintaining stability and preventing blackouts.
Long-Duration Energy Storage (LDES)
The UK government has recognised LDES as critical infrastructure and a national energy security asset. A Cap and Floor mechanism has been deployed support investment.
For example, compressed air energy storage (CAES) can provide multi-day to seasonal reserves by storing energy in underground salt caverns. Our patented CAES system is also hydrogen ready. Since hydrogen has a higher energy density than air, when used as a medium for CAES it enables greater storage capacity in the same cavern size.
Here’s how our patent works:
- Surplus or low-cost renewable energy is used to compress air or hydrogen into salt caverns.
- When power is needed, the stored gas is expanded through turbines to generate electricity.
- Our patented system reuses heat from the compression process, achieving higher efficiency than traditional CAES.
Our system can also catalyse green hydrogen production, using heat from the compression cycle to catalyse electrolysis. This means more efficient and therefore more cost effective green hydrogen production. The hydrogen produced can then be stored at a massive scale for use as a clean fuel in hard-to-abate sectors such as steelmaking or chemical production.
Energy Storage: The Cornerstone of UK Energy Security
Without energy storage, the UK would remain vulnerable to volatile gas prices, supply interruptions, and curtailment costs. With it, renewables can deliver low carbon power without sacrificing supply reliability. In a decarbonised grid, energy storage is the cornerstone of Britain’s energy security.
