English Deutsch Linde Worldwide Welcome to The Linde Group About Linde About Linde Company Profile The Linde Spirit Financial Overview Management Divisions Group Procurement Linde Worldwide Corporate History Investor Relations Investor Relations Business Model Targets and Strategy Financial Calendar Financial Publications Capital Markets Days Financial Overview Linde Shares Linde Bonds Annual General Meeting Corporate Governance FAQ Investor Relations Contacts News & Media News & Media Press Services Press Releases Linde @ Social Media Events Publications Linde Apps Image Library Video Library Media Contacts Corporate Responsibility Corporate Responsibility Strategy Business and Governance Environment and Safety Employees and Society Measuring sustainability Service Clean Technology Clean Technology Clean Energy Our Clean Technology Portfolio FAQ – Clean Technology Careers Careers Linde as an Employer What we offer School Students University Students University Graduates Professionals Jobs Contact Contact Contact Route Planner Clean Technology Clean Energy Our Clean Technology Portfolio Clean Technology Worldwide Hydrogen Energy Energy storage Hydrogen Energy Storage Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) Thermal Energy Storage (TES) Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Biotechnology and photovoltaics Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery (EOR/EGR) Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) CO2 Applications FAQ – Clean Technology Clean Technology Our Clean Technology Portfolio Energy storage Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) Air can be liquefied as a means of large scale energy storage. Liquid air is produced using electricity, can be stored in large cryogenic tanks and when desired, used to drive a turbine to get back the electricity. Linde and a partner have developed a first large-scale system and are preparing for demonstration. How it works The LAES system consists of three main parts: The charging, the storage and the discharging part. The charging part runs when electricity needs to be stored. Electricity is used to compress and cool air to -190 °C and then liquefy it through expansion – just like in any cryogenic air separation plant that Linde builds. Then, the liquid air is stored in near ambient pressure conditions in an insulated tank at a density of more than 700 times of ambient air. When power is needed in the grid, liquid air is pressurized using a pump, heated up & evaporated and finally expanded in the discharging part in one or several turbines which generate power. The system performance can be improved by storing and recycling the cold of the air and the heat of compression; further, external heat or fuel can be tied into the power generation process to improve efficiency and power output. Strengths and applications The system consists of mature and proven technology only: turbomachinery, heat exchangers and tanks are all available, proven and provide significant economy of scale. We expect LAES to be a competitive storage alternative in applications above 50 MW and for storage durations from 2-20 hours. The system can be built either as a pure power-to-power storage or combined with usage of industrial waste heat or fuel; in the latter case it can also be run as a gas turbine peaker (even when the storage is empty). The main advantage in comparison with classic large-scale alternatives (pumped hydro / compressed air energy storage) is that no geology is involved; therefore LAES can be built anywhere, erection time is short, and it is much less prone to public resistance and geological risks. A 1600 m3 liquid air tank can store about 220 MWh of electricity. Large-scale system ready for demonstration With a technology partner, we have developed an 80 MW power output system based on available components that is ready to be demonstrated. Simultaneously we are developing the next generation of advanced systems with improved performance. Clean Technology Contact Corporate Communications Klosterhofstraße 1 80331 München Phone +49 (0)89 357 57-1322 Fax +49.89.357 57-1398 Email us Linde Technology All Editions PDF Download Sitemap Terms of Use Legal Notice Data Protection © The Linde Group 2016