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kristopher

(29,798 posts)
Thu Jun 14, 2012, 03:32 PM Jun 2012

UK Government-backed body invests in "Rock Battery" company

Press Release
12 June 2012

UK Government-backed body invests in Isentropic’s revolutionary, low cost energy storage system.

The ETI is investing £14m ($22m) in Isentropic’s project to build a Pumped Heat Electricity Storage (PHES) system.

Segensworth, Hampshire, England, 12 June 2012
:

Isentropic Ltd, a private UK company announces that the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) has provided project funding and an equity investment, together totalling £14m ($22m). The funding is to build a full scale demonstrator of its revolutionary, low cost energy storage device - called Pumped Heat Electricity Storage (PHES). Isentropic will use the funds to develop and deploy a 1.5MW/6MWh electricity storage unit on a UK primary substation owned by Western Power Distribution in the Midlands region.

The ETI, a partnership between the UK Government and six leading international energy and energy technology companies, has previously commissioned 36 renewable and low carbon projects worth £138m. However, this is the first time it has made an equity investment in any of the companies it has funded.

Isentropic’s PHES technology has the potential to dominate the large-scale electrical storage market because it offers the prospect of being the lowest cost solution to the intermittency problems of renewable energy sources, such as wind. The technology is environmentally friendly, has no geographical constraints, is compact and can demonstrate a round trip efficiency of 75%.

James Macnaghten, Isentropic’s CEO, says: “The equity investment and project funding by the ETI and its corporate partners represents a huge vote of confidence in our unique Pumped Heat Electricity Storage (PHES) technology. We believe this project will allow us to demonstrate our leading position in the fast growing energy storage market.

“According to Lux Research’s report, “Grid Storage under the Microscope: Using Local Knowledge to Forecast Global Demand”, the global demand for grid storage will reach $113.5 billion by 2017, from a $2.8 billion market in 2012. I believe this timely investment could allow us to fulfil our mission to become the global leader in this fast growing industry.”

Dr David Clarke, ETI Chief Executive, says: “Isentropic are innovators in the field of electricity storage. Our investment strategy here is two-fold. Firstly we are providing financial support to allow the company to develop this technology further and staff up accordingly. Secondly we are using our position to expand the testing of this new UK technology to seek to identify the large-scale deployment potential to help provide affordable clean and secure energy solutions for the
future.”

Philip Bale, Western Power Distribution Project Engineer for the Midlands area, says: “Western Power Distribution is pleased to be working with Isentropic to develop this innovative form of energy storage. We are looking forward to demonstrating the storage device at one of our primary substations. We believe that distribution scale energy storage could be used to improve the future operation of the distribution network.”

Ends






See also Greentech Media's coverage:
$22M for Potential Breakthrough in Energy Storage: Isentropic Energy
Could Isentropic Energy’s pumped-heat electrical energy storage disrupt the large-scale electrical energy storage market?

ERIC WESOFF: JUNE 12, 2012


It's cliché to claim that large-scale energy storage is the holy grail or missing link of renewable energy.

But the problem remains -- energy storage technology is too expensive. Haresh Kamath of EPRI's Technology Innovation Group has said, "Storage is a great idea -- except for the cost." Steve Berberich of the California ISO recently said of energy storage, "It's good stuff, but it's expensive, and we have to find business cases."

Today, the only economical method of storing energy at a large scale is pumped hydro (pumped hydro accounts for almost all large-scale electricity storage) or compressed air energy storage (CAES). Unfortunately, both of those technologies require easy access to an immense airtight underground cavern or a couple of large reservoirs.

Back in 2010 we covered a U.K.-based firm, Isentropic, that claimed it could change the cost structure of energy storage. Today, the firm announced a large funding event to get it to demonstration scale.

The U.K. government-backed...

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/22M-for-Potential-Breakthrough-in-Energy-Storage-Isentropic-Energy/


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UK Government-backed body invests in "Rock Battery" company (Original Post) kristopher Jun 2012 OP
usually not too hard to find rocks, so they're good there phantom power Jun 2012 #1
I had rockbed heat storage under my greenhouse. Demeter Jun 2012 #2
Thanks for the update. (n/t) Nihil Jun 2012 #3
 

Demeter

(85,373 posts)
2. I had rockbed heat storage under my greenhouse.
Thu Jun 14, 2012, 04:18 PM
Jun 2012

A small fan pumped the air from the top through the bed. And I had roses every Valentine's Day, in NH.

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