Highview Power has announced plans to construct the UK’s first commercial cryogenic energy storage facility at large scale, located at a decommissioned thermal power station in North of England.

The project was announced by Highview Power CEO Javier Cavada during remarks at the BloombergNEF (BNEF) summit in London.

The 50 MW/250 MWh project (also referred to as a liquid air project) is a clean large-scale energy storage facility that can help the UK achieve its goal of decarbonising industry, power, heat, and transport.

Highview Power’s CRYOBattery uses only benign materials with zero emissions and has zero water impact. The new facility is the first large scale commercial system utilizing this technology, pioneered at Highview Power’s pilot plant in Slough, and evolved at the demonstration plant in Pilsworth, Greater Manchester, which has been operating since early 2018.

Along with this first large-scale facility, Highview Power is developing a portfolio of projects in the UK and is in the process of securing sites. These projects will further the UK’s strong move towards its clean energy goals and help it meet the expected global demand for energy storage.

“We are excited to begin working on our first commercial UK project at scale to become the largest battery storage system in Europe and support the National Grid. This CRYOBattery plant will provide the critical services needed to help maintain a stable and reliable grid,” said Cavada. “Long-duration, giga-scale energy storage is the necessary foundation to enable base load renewable energy and will be key to a 100 per cent carbon free future.”

In addition to supplying energy storage, Highview Power’s facility will also provide valuable services to the National Grid to help integrate renewables, stabilise the electrical grid, and ensure future energy security.

Other services the facility could deliver include market arbitrage, frequency management, reserve, and grid constraint management services. Highview Power is currently in discussions with potential offtakers to contract for the capabilities and services the facility can provide.

Highview Power’s CRYOBattery delivers clean, reliable, and cost-efficient long-duration energy storage with grid synchronous inertia. Furthermore, it can store energy for weeks, instead of hours or days, at approximately £110/MWh for a for a 10-hour, 200 MW / 2 GWh system.