Interesting concept. At $150,000,000 for 500MwH = $300/KwH of energy storage. Tesla's Megapack solution is $300/KwH also, giving this a good running chance if they can get costs down with scale.<p>I like that it can potentially run for decades without chemical degradation, and that it is environmentally friendly since most of the parts (compressors, dryers, generators, tanks) can be recycled down the line with minimal environmental impact.<p>Things that seem concerning at first glance:<p>* Maintaining sub -196'C requires a lot of complex refrigeration, monitoring and pressurization equipment, which can be prone to failure (see Hampson–Linde cycle). The expansion factor of liquid air to air is roughly 800x.<p>* Round-trip energy efficiency: I can't see a system taking electrical input to produce liquid air on the way in and similarly to run a turbine generator on the other end without having substantial losses both ways... I believe Tesla is around 88% on their system.<p>* Gasses used in refrigeration continue to be an environmental and health concern even with modern compounds.<p>Hopefully with some cost scaling or proof of longevity it can be a valid solution.<p>1. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampson%E2%80%93Linde_cycle" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampson%E2%80%93Linde_cycle</a>
This press release doesn't say anything about system efficiency. If it was high they'd be promoting that fact. Since it involves refrigeration it's probably quite low. That makes me wonder why they went with this system.
Low-tech magazine has run a few quite interesting articles about storing energy in compressed air. [0]<p>[0] <a href="https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/compressed-air/" rel="nofollow">https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/compressed-air/</a>
Yes, I’ve wondered what the issue is with doing things like this, I mean surely there’s a way to do this with molten salt blocks too. What is the efficiency on this and how easy is it to maintain!?
Couldn't find anything describing any details of the actual technology, even in the FAQ (<a href="https://highviewpower.com/faq/" rel="nofollow">https://highviewpower.com/faq/</a>).<p>Mostly wondering where and how they store the liquid air. Metal tanks? Underground caverns?
I've pumped scuba tanks and other light pressure stuff - in those applications a fair bit of energy is lost to waste heat. Curious how this is handled in terms of efficiency