Hydrostor advances compressed air storage project in Australia
Image: Hydrostor
From pv magazine Australia
Hydrostor, a Canadian long-duration energy storage (LDES) developer, has secured an AUD 82.6 million credit facility from Export Development Canada (EDC). The funds will support its 200 MW Silver City Energy Storage Centre project in Broken Hill, New South Wales, 1,140 km northwest of Sydney.
Utilising advanced compressed air energy storage (A-CAES), the A-CAES technology at Silver City repurposes a disused mine, stores renewable generated energy and feed back into the grid.
Hydrostor CEO Curtis VanWalleghem said the financing takes Hydrostor another step closer to bringing the Silver City project to market. “It proves once again global momentum is growing behind long-duration energy storage technology, particularly A-CAES,” added VanWalleghem.
The 1,600 MWh Silver City project is a late-stage development, and the company says it will eliminate the need for major investments in new transmission lines or reliance on polluting diesel generators, by providing eight-plus hours of energy storage for 50.plus years.
“The need to guarantee reliable, resilient energy will only continue to grow, and we’re proud to partner with EDC to make our first utility-scale project a reality,” VanWelleghem said.
EDC President and Chief Executive Officer Alison Nankivell said Hydrostor’s development is one of Australia’s most ambitious long-duration energy storage projects.
“This financing underscores our commitment to advancing first-of-a-kind utility-scale renewable energy solutions—key drivers of the global energy transition, both at home and abroad,” Nankivell said.
“By supporting the commercialization of Canadian intellectual property, EDC seeks to bring long-term economic returns back to Canada while raising global visibility to our domestic strength in the renewable energy sector.”
Hydrostor has more than 7 GW of early stage projects in its development pipeline in Australia, Canada, Europe, and the United States.