CAES Compressed Air Energy Storage

Until now, storage power plants with compressed air have a low efficiency and a demand for natural gas to heat. A new project wants to change this.

Self ignition at the Diesel engine

The principle of a Diesel engine had been until now the disaster for the CAES. When air is compressed, the air becomes warmer. At a compression of 1:20, the air becomes so hot, that the injected Diesel ignites. This is the reason that a Diesel is called a self igniter. But at all earlier CAES projects, the energy of the heat was lost. On the other side, when compressed air is decompressed, there is a cooling. So existing compressed air storage systems put heat from burning natural gas into the system.

2 part storage system

The new more efficient generation of compressed air storage systems could (status BINE information 2007) exist 2012 to 2017 first time as a demonstration facility. It's a two part storage system. A compressed air storage deep below ground in a artificial cavern in salt and a heat storage in the range of 600 degree for the heat at compressing the air.

The cost question

The new CAES was just right now nearly without competition. Locations for pump storage plants with water are rare and vehemently defended by landscape protectors. Battery technology was far away from being a competitor. But suddenly, CAES has to compete against a new generation of lithium batteries. Test our storage cost calculator, to caclulate differend cost Scenarios..