Two Scottish firms net £14m to work on energy storage systems
More than £14 million of funding has been awarded to two Scottish projects developing energy storage technologies that should help bolster the resilience of the UK’S electricity grid.
Edinburgh-headquartered Stortera and Sunamp, which is based in East Lothian, will receive UK government backing to develop their technologies. They are both benefiting from a share of more than £32minthesecondphaseofthe Longer Duration Energy Storage (LODES) competition.
Stortera will receive just over £5m to help develop a longlasting megawatt scale battery that can operate for up to eight hours.
The firm’s “single liquid flow” battery will offer flexibility to the grid by storing electricity that can then be released at peak times when weather dependenttechnologiessuchas wind turbines and solar panels haveperiodsofdecreasedenergy generation. The battery is scheduled to be installed at the Midlothian Innovation Centre (MIC) in 2024.
Gavin Park, chief executive at Stortera, said: “This is a really significant piece of funding for Storteraandweareexcitedthat the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy shares our ambition and believes we can lead the way in developing sustainable long duration batteries.
"As Scotland produces more and more renewable energy it isclearthatlongdurationenergystoragewillbecrucialinsupportingtheflowofenergytothe grid at peak times.
"If Scotland wants to meet its net-zero targets, it is vital that whenthewindisn’tblowingand the sun isn’t shining that energycanbestoredandreleasedto the grid.”
Sunamp will receive £9.25m for a project that will trial its advanced thermal storage systemin100homesacrosstheuk.
The firm will extend its existing heat battery to provide increased storage duration and capacity and pair it with household energy systems to tackle periods of low renewables generation on the grid.
Chief executive Andrew Bissellsaid:“wearethrilledtohave received this very significant funding award, which is the resultofoutstandingworkfrom ourownandourpartners’product, materials and engineering teams.
"The money will be used to develop and test in 100 homes a first-of-a-kind thermal energy storage technology aimed at replacing fossil fuels and bringing forward the electrification of heat.”
Thevariablenatureofrenewables such as solar and wind power means that energy can beproducedwhenitisnotneeded, such as during extended periods of high wind. However, new energy storage technologies can store excess energy to be used at a later point, so the energy can be used rather than wasted.
UK minister for climate Graham Stuart said: “Accelerating renewables is key to boosting our energy resilience. Energy storage helps us get the full benefit of these renewables, improving efficiency and helping drive down costs in the long term. This £14m UK governmentbackingwillsupportscottishinnovationtofurtherdevelop this technology.”
The funding follows the first phase of the LODES competition, which awarded £2.7m awarded to 19 projects.