Sulzer has signed an agreement with Highview Power to deliver eight molten salt pumps, five cryopumps and a selection of auxiliary services to help unlock long-duration energy storage at Highview Power’s new facility at Carrington, Manchester, and other future facilities across the UK. The Carrington project will be the first to deliver commercial-scale liquid air energy storage in the UK.
While solar, wind and other green power sources offer enormous reserves of emission-free power, they can also be intermittent. If these renewable sources generate more supply than demand at any one time, they can overwhelm the grid. In the UK where wind produces about 30% of all electricity, the grid operator will often pay developers to turn their wind turbines off. This costly process known as curtailment is a growing issue as the UK introduces more wind power supply into the grid.
Highview Power’s liquid air energy storage (LAES) system is said to represent a significant opportunity in the global energy transition, delivering more renewable energy into the power grid through its storage technology. The system captures excess power and releases it back at times of high demand or reduced generation. It also offers critical grid stability services.
Highview Power CEO Richard Butland explained: “Excess energy is used to clean and dry air, which is then refrigerated and compressed until it liquefies and can be stored in tanks. When power is needed, the liquid is pumped at high pressure and heated, so it expands, and drives a gas turbine to generate electricity.”
The Carrington facility will use these molten salt processes to recover and store otherwise wasted energy for use in heat generation, further maximising its efficiency. Expected peak temperatures in the plant of around 435°C sit well below the 650°C standard tolerance of Sulzer’s specialist pumps. Nonetheless, the LAES project poses specific engineering challenges around integrating both cryogenic pumps and molten salt pumps efficiently.
For Rajesh Chakravarty, Sales Director for Sulzer Energy – Middle East, addressing these challenges is exactly how Sulzer adds value.
He said: “Our experts have the knowledge and experience to ensure we provide industry-leading solutions, especially when that requires innovative thinking. This partnership relied on the customer trusting us to deliver the best possible outcome for them.
“Molten salts represent a state-of-the-art solution to renewable energy storage, where energy providers can tap into excess production to smooth output at peak times and avoid costly excess,” he continued. “Given the collaborative nature of the project, we anticipate a 14-month manufacturing and delivery timescale despite the complexity involved, and we expect to see the plant operational by March 2027.”
Sulzer said it’s system will ensure that Highview Power’s liquid air energy storage technology is more efficient, delivering more renewable energy onto the grid in the UK and beyond.
