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UK Funds Long-Duration Energy Storage Projects for Net-Zero Power

Industry: Energy Storage
Current: Other Industry Indicators

The UK has awarded funding of around $9.5 million to support innovative energy storage projects
Renewables will play a crucial role in achieving the country’s net-zero target by 2050. Maximizing the potential of renewable energy through energy storage projects will be crucial
The successful projects which received fundings use advanced technologies such as flow batteries, hydro-pneumatics, and green hydrogen

UK Funds Long-Duration Energy Storage Projects for Net-Zero Power

In 2021, the UK government started a competition to accelerate the commercialization of innovative long-duration energy storage projects. As part of this initiative, on February 23, 2022, the government announced funding of £6.7 million (around $9.5 million) to various projects that are developing innovative projects for energy storage. This funding comes from the government's "The Net Zero Innovation Portfolio" plan, a fund developed for encouraging advancements in low-carbon technologies. This funding will help projects check their feasibility at scale. If scaled successfully, these projects will help achieve the decarbonization targets and make them cost-effective. These solutions are first-of-a-kind and can direct the future of the country's energy consumption.

Need for Long-Duration Energy Storage Technologies

The power sector, which is responsible for one-third of global carbon emissions, will play a vital role as the world makes efforts to limit the effects of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Transitioning to renewable energy is a critical step in this direction. Increasing the share of renewables comes with numerous challenges, especially the unpredictable nature of wind and solar power. The most discussed solution for this problem is the storage of power and using it according to the requirement. The widescale and timely deployment of long-duration energy storage technologies will enable a smooth transition to renewables.

According to GlobalData, in 2021, the UK has a total installed capacity of 104GW, of which 46% comes from renewables such as wind, solar, and biopower. A significant portion of the remaining energy capacity is dependent on thermal resources, which are highly susceptible to external geopolitical risks. Renewables help tackle such challenges and achieve the net-zero target of 2050. A new study suggests that the UK requires 24GW of long-duration energy storage to manage renewable intermittency in comparison to the current installed capacity of 2.8GW.

Successful Projects

The following are the five renewable energy storage solution projects that received government funding:

Ballylumford Power-to-X project focuses on the conversion of wind power to green hydrogen. The project will use wind energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. This hydrogen can work as fuel during energy requirements. B9 Energy Storage leads the project and is located in Northern Ireland.

GraviSTORE project by Gravitricity converts renewable energy to potential energy. The project raises weights with the help of renewable energy sources, which increases their potential energy. The weights are connected to the power generator. Power is generated while lowering the weights. This novel approach takes shape in Northern England and has received more than $1 million in funding.

Long Duration Offshore Storage Bundle project is led by Subsea 7 and FLASC BV. Offshore wind farms require power transmission, but this project tries to store wind power generated through innovative use of the hydro-pneumatic system. When wind energy is available, this project pumps water into an air-charged chamber. When required, this water can flow back and produce electricity.

Vanadium Flow Battery by Invinity Energy Systems received $0.9 million in funding. Invinity will demonstrate a long-duration power demand solution through a 40MWh vanadium flow battery. The location for this project is in Scotland, which will receive UK-based solar power generation input.

Cheshire Energy Storage Centre is a project that will be implemented by a consortium. London-based io consulting will lead the project for the consortium and has received more than $1 million in funding. For this project, gas cavities in Cheshire will be the location for compressed air energy storage. While working, this storage will store energy from renewable sources in compressed air. This energy will be provided to the power generator during the energy requirement period through air expansion.

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