Distribution Scale Energy Storage
Demonstration of grid scale energy storage technology with the National Facility for Pumped Heat Energy Storage at Newcastle University
- Demonstration of grid scale energy storage technology
- Technology developed by Hampshire SME Isentropic - using a combined heat pump/heat engine to generate electricity to create temperature difference for storage efficiency
Hampshire SME, Isentropic developed a Pumped Heat Electricity Storage (PHES) technology for large-scale energy storage. It uses an innovative heat pump/engine which converts electrical energy to heat, stored in low cost gravel storage vessels. The process is reversible, with hot gas expanded in the engine to drive a generator with an achievable round trip efficiency of approximately 75%.
The original aim of the project was to develop and demonstrate a cost-effective 1.5MW/6MWh energy storage device. Isentropic entered administration in 2016 and the ETI subsequently acquired the intellectual property assets of Isentropic along with certain physical assets. In 2016 the ETI entered an agreement with Newcastle University’s Sir Joseph Swan Centre for Energy Research to continue the projects work and create “the world’s first grid-scale demonstration of pumped heat storage” as part of the University’s National Facility for Pumped Heat Storage.
This complemented the £20m EPSRC National Centre for Energy Systems Integration led by Newcastle University and focused on meeting the challenge of storing new sources of energy to meet future demand.
