Over £32 million of Government funding has been awarded to five UK projects developing ‘innovative energy-storage technologies’ in the second phase of the Longer Duration Energy Storage Demonstration (LODES) competition, to develop technologies that can store energy as heat, electricity or as a low-carbon energy carrier like hydrogen. The aim is to help increase the resilience of the UK’s electricity grid while also maximising value for money.
The variable nature of renewables like solar and wind power means that energy can be produced when it is not needed, such as during extended periods of high wind. However, the need is for new energy storage technologies that can store excess energy to be used at a later point, so the energy can be used rather than wasted, thereby allowing the UK to rely even more on renewable generation rather than fossil fuels, helping boost its long-term energy resilience.
Minister for Climate Graham Stuart (pictured) said: “Accelerating renewables is key to boosting our energy resilience. Energy storage helps us get the full benefit of these renewables, improving efficiency and helping drive down costs in the long term. This £32.9 million Government backing will enable green innovators throughout the UK to develop this technology, helping create new jobs and encouraging private investment, while also safeguarding the UK’s energy security.
“The funding follows the first phase of the LODES competition, which saw £2.7 million awarded to 19 projects. This second phase provides further funding to the most promising projects from Phase One, enabling them to build prototypes and demonstrators to bring their projects to life.”
Energy storage projects which received funding comprise:
StorTera Ltd, based in Edinburgh, which will build a prototype demonstrator of its highly energy-dense single-liquid flow battery (SLIQ) technology;
Sunamp Ltd, based in East Lothian, which will trial its thermal storage system in 100 UK homes; the
University of Sheffield, which is to develop a prototype modular thermal energy storage system that will be manufactured by
Loughborough University and deployed at the Creative Energy Homes campus at the
University of Nottingham;
RheEnergise Ltd, which is to build a demonstrator near Plymouth of its ‘High-Density Hydro’ pumped energy storage system; and
EDF UK R&D which — in partnership with the
University of Bristol,
Urenco and the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) — is to develop a hydrogen storage demonstrator using depleted uranium at
UKAEA’s Culham Science Centre in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.
The £68 million LODES competition is funded through the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, which aims to accelerate the commercialisation of innovative clean energy technologies and processes through the 2020s and 2030s.