Highview Power, a leading provider of long-duration energy storage solutions, has announced that it is developing long-duration liquid air energy storage projects of up to 2 GWh in Spain with an estimated investment of about $1 billion (~₹73.14 billion).

The company said that the projects would help various regions in Spain to achieve their net-zero emission targets.

According to the company’s statement, Highview Power, along with its partners, TSK and Center for Energy, Environmental, and Technological Research, is planning to set up seven CRYOBattery projects ranging from 50 MWh to 300 MWh in Asturias, Cantabria, Castilla y Leon, and the Canary Islands.

Speaking on the latest announcement, Javier Cavada, Chief Executive Officer and President of Highview Power, said, “As Spain adds more renewables to the grid, long-duration energy storage will play a critical role toward enabling grid stability and helping the country achieve the decarbonization objectives set by the National Energy and Climate Plan. Spain recognizes the urgency of addressing climate change, and we believe that Highview Power’s CRYOBattery will be a critical component in its net-zero strategy.”

The company’s CRYOBattery technology uses air as the storage medium and delivers services like synchronous inertia, short-circuit, and dynamic voltage control. The CRYOBattery-powered projects match the fossil fuel-based thermal projects and nuclear power when paired with renewables. The company’s proprietary cryogenic energy storage system delivers long-duration energy storage solutions and has a long lifespan of 30 years. The innovative technology can deliver anywhere from 20 MW/100 MWh to more than 200 MW/2 GWh of energy.

To address the pressing concerns regarding climate change, the Spanish government recently announced the adoption of the National Energy and Climate Program, intending to cut down greenhouse gas emissions by 23% by 2030 and achieve the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. As per the estimates, Spain’s goal of achieving net-zero status will generate nearly $200 billion (~₹14.63 trillion) in investments and create nearly 350,000 new jobs.

Spain has also announced a program to develop a capacity market to support the growing renewable capacity on the grid. Once in effect, this will help the country meet its 20 GW of storage capacity by 2030 goal.

The projects will be developed in regions that are ideally suited for the company’s long-duration energy storage technology and will help support the grid where conventional power projects have been shut down.

In February this year, Highview Power announced that it had closed its Growth Capital round of funding with over $70 million (~₹5.12 billion), bringing the total amount of funding and grants the company has secured to date to over $145 million (~₹10.61 billion). The Growth Capital round included the $46 million (~₹3.36 billion) investment from Sumitomo Heavy Industries and additional investments from strategic investors Janus Continental Group and TSK, along with a $5.5 million (~₹402.29 million) contribution from the original and founding investors.

This year, Spain allocated 3.034 GW of renewable energy capacity in its first renewable energy auction since 2017. In the auction held by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition, 2.034 GW of solar photovoltaic capacity was awarded. Spanish solar developer X-Elio Energy won 315 MW of solar capacity, followed by Iberdrola subsidiary Iberenova Promociones (243 MW) and Spanish utility Naturgy (196 MW).