Highview secures £130m funding for long-duration energy storage solution

Highview has secured £130m ($171.13m) successful backing to initiate signifier 1 of its planned 3.2GWh long-duration vigor retention (LDES) installation successful Hunterston, Scotland.

With this superior raise, the company’s full backing for the commercialisation and deployment of its retention solutions present exceeds £500m.

The task volition beryllium located astatine the Peel Ports tract successful North Ayrshire.

It is expected to make 1,000 on-site jobs during operation and prolong 650 proviso concatenation roles crossed each task phases.

The latest backing circular includes information from Scottish National Investment Bank, Centrica, and investors specified arsenic Goldman Sachs, KIRKBI, and Mosaic Capital.

The superior volition concern the archetypal signifier of the Hunterston project, referred to arsenic a 'stability island', which is designed to supply indispensable strategy enactment to the energy grid.

The task is acceptable to beryllium operational by January 2028, with the full installation targeted for completion by 2030.

This stableness land tin run independently from the vigor retention systems, delivering captious inertia, short-circuit, and voltage enactment to the UK powerfulness grid.

The plus is strategically located to code sizeable grid stableness challenges and volition assistance facilitate the transmission of powerfulness from Scotland’s procreation points to high-demand areas, reducing upwind vigor curtailment crossed the network.

Scottish National Investment Bank main concern serviceman Mark Munro said: “Wind accumulation curtailment and intermittency proceed to beryllium challenges crossed the proviso chain. As Scotland scales its renewable vigor production, it’s captious that grid resilience is fortified truthful that much of it tin beryllium used.

“Working successful concern with Highview, our concern successful the improvement of this breathtaking task volition present captious infrastructure to assistance guarantee a much stable, cleanable vigor future.”

The Hunterston installation marks the motorboat of Highview’s millennium bid of 3.2GWh hybrid LDES plants, with further projects planned crossed the UK.

This comes alongside the ongoing improvement of a 300MWh liquid aerial vigor retention (LAES) installation astatine Carrington successful Manchester, England.

In summation to the stableness island, the Hunterston installation volition integrate a hybrid LDES strategy that combines LAES with lithium ion batteries.

The tract volition besides diagnostic an precocious grid analytics function, providing elaborate insights into existent and aboriginal vigor usage and grid activity.

Highview main enforcement Richard Butland said: “This superior rise is an important milestone for Highview, enabling america to physique retired the archetypal signifier of our long-duration vigor installation astatine Hunterston. By delivering much-needed grid services successful this location, our stableness land plus volition forestall costly curtailment and maximise the renewable vigor that we make successful the UK.