The funding for Viridor and Highview is part of the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s innovation competition to support energy storage technology research and development.

Viridor and Highview will use the funding to develop and demonstrate their liquid air energy storage technology, which will be connected to the National Grid, and used to test balancing supply and demand using stored energy.

The demonstration will be at sufficient scale and under realistic conditions to show that the proposed technology could cost-effectively address grid-scale storage needs for the UK electricity network.

‘The collaboration with Viridor will enable Highview to showcase the technology at larger scale, harvesting waste heat from landfill gas engines and demonstrating our readiness for deployment elsewhere,’ says Gareth Brett, CEO of Highview Power Storage.

At present, almost all electricity is generated as required, and networks are designed to accommodate the highest demands, even if they are of very short duration. Energy storage systems offer the opportunity to store surplus electricity for use at times of high demand.

Energy storage is one of the technologies highlighted in the new Strategic Framework, published by the Low Carbon Innovation Coordination Group (LCICG). The LCICG brings together UK public-funded investors in low-carbon innovation.

The new publication, Coordinating Low Carbon Technology Innovation Support, sets out LCICG’s assessment of new technologies that need government support out to 2020. It also shows how UK public funders are coming together to prioritise and provide targeted investment, as the nation’s energy system is transformed for the future.