Compressed air energy storage

Compressed air energy storage, in simple terms, is to use electricity to drive the compressor and generate high-pressure air, which is stored in the air storage device. During peak electricity consumption, high-pressure air is released to drive the expander to rotate to drive the generator. In this way, the originally stored electricity is released again, realizing the conversion and storage of energy.

Compressed air energy storage is basically in the development process from demonstration to early industrialization. At present, China has built 6 units, and there are about 20 units under construction or in planning.

The current general view is that if renewable energy is to be developed on a large scale, it will account for 80% of the proportion of energy types by 2060, and then energy storage will basically account for 10%-15% of the entire power system. In this 10%-15%, there are a variety of large-scale energy storage technologies in development. Examples include pumped hydro, compressed air, lithium batteries, and flow batteries. However, compressed air energy storage is still quite competitive, and its development prospects are very broad.