The world’s largest and first commercial liquid air battery facility is planned for Trafford, Greater Manchester.

Backed by £10 million of government investment, the revolutionary CryoBattery liquid-air energy (LAES) plant in Manchester, will be developed jointly by Carlton Power and Highview and will help the UK make the most of the energy generated from its world-class solar and wind sectors.

Highview Power’s cryogenic energy storage systems, which use liquid air as the storage medium, are the only long-duration energy storage solution available today that are locatable and can offer multiple gigawatt-hours of storage. That represents weeks’ worth of storage, not just hours or days. Grid operators are turning to long-duration energy storage to improve power generation economics, balance the grid, and increase reliability.

“This revolutionary new Cryobattery facility will form a key part of our push towards net zero, bringing greater flexibility to Britain’s electricity grid and creating green collar jobs in Greater Manchester,” stated Energy and Clean Growth Minister Kwasi Kwarteng :

This will give the UK far greater flexibility in helping meet the country’s electricity needs from the grid and when up and running could be used to power as many as 200,000 homes for 5 hours a day.

The UK is now home to the world’s largest offshore wind farm, and a third of the country’s electricity needs are now met from renewable sources. But the unpredictable nature of wind and solar power means that energy can be produced when it is not needed by the grid.

Harnessing storage technologies is a key part of meeting the UK’s legally-binding target to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.