Called liquid-air energy storage (LAES) the plant uses renewable electricity to compress air to extreme densities until it turns to liquid.

The world’s largest demonstration plant for a new kind of renewable energy storage is up and running in the west of the China. Called liquid-air energy storage (LAES) the plant uses renewable electricity to compress air to extreme densities until it turns to liquid. It can then be rapidly released to power a turbine and discharge that green energy back into the grid.

  • humanspiral@lemmy.caEnglish
    2·
    4 hours ago

    This needs a huge amount of energy surplus to provide enough in the summer

    Yes, but you need huge summer surplus solar to provide baseload in winter too. Ammonia in great lakes/mid west region market price is very profitable from solar production in the area.

    using ammonia for heat/energy is in direct contrast to using it using it for the market isn’t it?

    It’s more about making unlimited ammonia and still having a use for it for someone in the world in some season.

    My guess would be anything green H2 will be too high demand and expensive to use as a fuel

    Solar based baseload pricing can work at 2c/kwh daytime summer, and 15-20c/kwh daytime winter. Where legacy plants are kept around for 2 months of the year. But Ammonia is competitive to make/store for the winter and deliver power at around that cost, especially through home/V2H fuel cells, but also at higher backup power pricing. You need ammonia winter reserve for spring sales anyway.