UK-based RheEnergise has secured a £335,000 (US$424,000) equity investment from the Low Carbon Innovation Fund (LCIF2) for its HD Hydro pumped storage solution.
LCIF2 invests in low-carbon innovators and has made 37 awards to date.
According to RheEnergise, with this investment concluded, the company will look to a second and third close of additional investments over the next quarter. Also, it has firm commitments of a further £750,000 ($948,000) in funding, ultimately on course to secure new investments of at least £3 million ($3.8 million).
Stephen Crosher, chief executive of RheEnergise said: “Over the past 12 months, we have had customer interest in our work from over 30 countries. With this latest investment, along with the additional investment that we will secure, we can accelerate the commercial deployment of our storage solution.”
HD Hydro
RheEnergise’s HD Hydro is a novel form of pumped hydro energy storage designed to provide medium- to long-duration energy storage. The system setup involves storage tanks positioned at the top and bottom of a small hill and connected penstocks. Next to the lower storage tanks there is a powerhouse containing the pumps and turbines.
RheEnergise explains that when energy demand is low, with associated low costs, the High-Density Fluid R-19 (which has a density 2.5x that of water) is pumped to the top storage tanks. As energy prices rise, the HD Fluid R-19 is released and passes through the turbines, generating electricity to supply power to the grid.
HD Hydro can provide four to 16 hours of energy storage in the 10 MW to 50 MW power range and can be connected to existing grid infrastructure and can be co-located with other renewable energy projects.
RheEnergise is investigating project opportunities in the UK and Ireland, the U.S. and Canada, Chile and Australia.
This article was originally published on sister site Power Engineering International.
