immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Batterie

  • AirBattery and CAES as the key to the energy transition

    AirBattery and CAES as the key to the energy transition

    When wind and sun fail, reliable reserves are needed. Conventional battery systems reach their limits with large amounts of energy and long storage times. This is precisely where compressed air storage systems come in. They convert surplus energy into compressed air and store it in underground caverns for days, weeks or even months. When required, the air is expanded again and electricity is generated. The AirBattery and modernised CAES systems represent a turning point in storage technology.

    Innovative combination of compressed air and water
    The AirBattery uses salt caverns to store compressed air at up to 200 bar. The expansion of the air displaces water, which drives a turbine. A closed water circuit ensures high efficiency with low use of resources. Initial pilot projects show efficiencies of 47%, and the first industrial plant is due to be built in Germany in 2027/2028.

    CAESwith over 70% efficiency
    While older CAES systems were 40-55 %, new developments such as those at the North China Electric Power University show that thermal recovery and hybridisation can now achieve up to 70 %. This innovation makes CAES economically attractive for the first time, with electricity generation costs of between €55 and €120/MWh. At the same time, the consumption of raw materials is drastically reduced as no rare metals are required.

    The potential is huge
    In Europe alone, there are many suitable salt caverns with a storage potential of two thirds of annual electricity consumption. In Switzerland, granite formations, old fortresses and strategic cavities offer comparable opportunities. Utilising existing infrastructure makes CAES particularly sustainable and cost-efficient.

    Cost-effectiveness and market potential
    CAES scores with economies of scale and a long service life. Investments are particularly worthwhile for large systems with storage times of over 8 hours. The amortisation period is 6 to 11 years and the ROI can be up to 12 %. By 2030, 10-20% of global storage requirements could be covered by CAES, which corresponds to a market with a capacity of over 100 GW.

    China shows what Europe can learn
    China is demonstrating how targeted political control can advance storage technologies. Clear regulations, state subsidies and green credit lines are massively driving expansion there. A comparable framework is still lacking in Europe. In order to realise the potential, we need funding instruments that are open to all technologies, faster approvals and incentives for grid services.

    Carbon footprint and sustainability
    CAES achieves life cycle emissions of just 20-50 g CO₂/kWh, far below gas-fired power plants and often better than battery systems. Thanks to durable components, low space requirements and resource-saving design, CAES is becoming a building block for a climate-neutral energy future. The combination with power-to-gas or battery systems offers additional flexibility.

    Compressed air storage systems are becoming a strategic success factor
    AirBattery and modern CAES systems could become the backbone of tomorrow’s energy supply. Their ability to efficiently store renewable energy over long periods of time makes them a real alternative, both economically and ecologically. Now is the time for suppliers, municipal utilities and investors to realise pilot projects and create the regulatory conditions. The next few years will decide whether CAES will go from being a niche product to a system component of the energy transition.

  • Solar power could solve Swiss energy problems

    Solar power could solve Swiss energy problems

    Only photovoltaics can show Switzerland the way to a CO2-free future, writes the Deputy Director of the Federal Materials Testing and Research Institute ( Empa ), Peter Richner, in an article for Avenir Suisse . It is based on the so-called Kaya identity, which the Japanese scientist Yoichi Kaya used in 1993 to describe the total amount of anthropogenic CO2 emissions as a function of four factors. The fourth alone, a reduction in the CO2 footprint, has enough potential, according to Richner, to achieve Switzerland's climate goals – through massive expansion of photovoltaics.

    If only 50 percent of all Swiss roofs were equipped with solar modules, electricity production from nuclear power plants would be superfluous. Richner demonstrates this in terms of electricity supply and demand for 2015. However, if all roofs and increasingly also building facades were equipped with solar panels, the output gap in winter could also be compensated for. At the same time, however, solutions would have to be found in order to be able to utilize the largest possible proportion of the electricity surplus in summer, both on a daily basis and at other times of the year.

    For increased flexibility of use, day storage systems could shift loads, for example through batteries or hydrogen. Digitization offers opportunities for the necessary creation of flexibility in consumption and production. Excess electricity could be converted into hydrogen in summer and possibly, together with CO2 from the air, into methane or liquid synthetic hydrocarbons. These chemical energy carriers can be stored easily and used in a variety of ways. And finally, seasonal heat storage systems could be charged with excess electricity in order to reduce energy requirements in winter.

    The potential of energy efficiency, another influenceable factor of the Kaya identity, is far from being exhausted, says Richner. However, achievements in this area would be compensated for by higher electricity demand, fossil electricity imports from abroad in winter or increased electricity consumption.

    In order to achieve a climate-neutral Switzerland, one of the four factors in the Kaya identity must be zero or the remaining product is offset with CO2-negative technologies such as the separation of CO2 from the air and its storage. Politicians must provide a decisive framework for this, as long as the nuclear power plants are still running.