Startup SustainX brings a big next-gen air battery online
A new way to compress air and use it as a form of energy storage is getting ever closer to the mainstream with startup SustainX. The tech could be important to pair with solar and wind farms.
Using data and computer models to store wind energy underground
Power companies in areas with a growing amount of clean power are looking at new ways to store compressed air underground. The Pacific Northwest could get some of these next-gen air technologies in the coming years.
How compressed air energy storage could help the Pacific Northwest bank wind energy
A federal lab has completed a study to look at how compressed air technology could be a good fit for storing wind energy in the Pacific Northwest, where 13 percent of the electricity supply comes from wind.
Underwater batteries are making a splash for energy storage
Companies are looking to harness underwater pressure for energy generation and storage.
Meet the next generation of air energy storage players
So what if it’s geeky power grid gear. Entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators are working hard on developing the next-generation of compressed air energy storage technology. Like an air battery. And Bill Gates is a fan.
SustainX Raises $14.4M for Air Energy Storage
A startup building the next-generation of compressed air energy storage, SustainX, has raised a new round of funding from investors including GE. The funds will help the company start construction on a 1 MW compressed air energy storage project with its first customer AES.
Soon to Be a Reality: Next-Gen Compressed Air Energy Storage
Utility scale energy storage doesn’t get the type of attention as, solar or electric cars — particularly a tech as dry as compressed air energy storage. But startups are innovating in this area, and two in particular are moving ever closer to commercialization: SustainX and General Compression.
Vid-Biz: iTunes in the Cloud, World Cup Viewership, TiVo in Spain
Today on the Net: Apple is moving its iTunes music and movie service into the cloud, about a third of US residents watched the World Cup, according to Nielsen, and TiVo will supply software and services to power a next-generation TV initiative at ONO in Spain.
General Compression Pumps in $17M for Fuel-free Air Energy Storage
While everyone’s talking about new battery technologies that can store huge amounts of electricity for the power grid, for the time being the cheapest ways to store grid power is water and air — that is, pumped hydro and compressed air energy storage, or CAES. The latter involves using cheap power to pump air into underground caverns or tanks, then releasing it to augment a natural gas-fired turbine when power demands are at their peak.
Entrepreneurs and VCs are now looking for innovative ways to tweak this decades-old technology and startup General Compression has come up with an effective way to use compressed air for energy storage without burning natural gas. On Tuesday, the company announced the close of a $17 million Series A round of funding to help it build a commercial-scale unit to test the proposition.
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