Underwater Compressed Air Energy Storage
Toronto-based energy storage firm Hydrostor plans to store energy by pumping compressed air underwater.
The technology works by using excess energy generated by wind or solar to pump air into an air cavity at the bottom of the ocean or a lake. A compressor is used to pressurize the air to the same level as the water pressure, the heat is extracted and stored in a thermal reservoir, and the compressed air is stored until energy is needed again.
To supply the energy back to the grid, the system is reversed: the high water pressure forces the air back up, the air is heated and drives an expander, thus resupplying the stored energy. The system has an efficiency of about 70 percent.
Hydrostor is already developing two projects with Canada and a Caribbean Island respectively.
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