The UK government has awarded £9.4 million to an innovative energy storage project devised in Edinburgh.

Synchrostor intends to construct a 1 MW demonstration facility to charge, store, and discharge energy for 10 hours. The testing facility is designed to outperform existing battery technology.

The grant was awarded through the Longer Duration Energy Storage contest.

Energy Security Minister Graham Stuart called the enterprise, which will develop a Pumped Thermal Energy Storage (PTES) system, “pioneering.”

He added, “Long-term energy storage is essential for constructing a robust and secure energy system and maximising the use of renewable energy.”

“I’m thrilled that the Scottish PTES Demonstrator project is receiving government funding to become a reality – there is a great level of talent in our UK industries, and it’s fantastic to see them contributing to the nation’s energy security.”

According to the government, maximising the potential of renewables would increase the reliability of the UK’s electricity grid while maximising value.

Home-grown energy

The funding will allow Synchrostor to prepare its technology for the energy market to attract private investment and generate new green employment.

The company expressed gratitude for the funding, which will “substantially enhance [its] research and development capabilities.” “Our goal is to make this technology even more affordable across all industries and to move into mass production,” a spokesperson explained.

Scaling up pumped thermal electricity storage will be a game-changer for renewables and a wide spectrum of new value propositions outside electricity storage.

Sunamp, based in East Lothian, was awarded £9.25 million in November to help test its advanced thermal storage system in 100 UK residences.

And StorTera in Edinburgh was allocated £5 million for a single liquid flow battery technology prototype demonstrator.

According to the UK government, flexible technologies such as electricity storage could save up to £10 billion annually by 2050. This would be accomplished by decreasing the energy and network required to establish a secure, domestic energy system.