Once onstream, the 50 MW cryogenic energy storage will be one of Europe’s largest battery storage systems and help achieve the UK’s net-zero carbon goals.
“This new cryogenic energy storage plant will deliver much needed long-duration energy storage and provide valuable services to the National Grid,“ said Javier Cavada, Highview Power CEO.
In-operation date in 2022
Highview has teamed up with the UK independent developer Carlton Power to build and operate the energy storage facility at Trafford Energy Park, just outside of Manchester. Situated in Carrington Village, it will be one of Europe’s largest battery storage systems.
Construction of f the CRYOBattery facility at Trafford Park is expected to start later this year and enter commercial operation in 2022.
It will use existing substation and transmission infrastructure, with its income derived from several markets, including arbitrage, grid balancing, and ancillary services such as frequency response and voltage support.
Cheap, large and long-duration storage technology
In terms of technology Highview cryogenic energy storage systems use liquid air as the storage medium which allows them to store large quantities of energy for a long-duration. The facilities can offer multiple gigawatt-hours of storage. That represents weeks’ worth of storage, not just hours or days.
“At giga-scale, CRYOBatteries paired with renewables are equivalent in performance to – and could replace – thermal and nuclear baseload power in addition to supporting electricity transmission and distribution systems while providing additional security of supply,” Highview stated.
At approximately £110/MWh for a 10-hour, 200 MW / 2 GWh system, the CRYOBattery is said to offers a “competitive levelised cost of storage for large-scale applications.”
Aiming for 1 GWh storage capacity in the UK
Carlton Power has developed more than 5 GW of generation projects (CCGTs, OCGTS, and solar) across the UK and Europe with more than 2.5GW already in commercial operation.
In the UK, Highview and Carlton Power plant to co-develop up to four additional CRYOBattery projects with a combined capacity of over 1 GWh.