IEEE Spectrum September 18, 2019
Refrigerated food warehouses and factories consume immense amounts of energy. A team of researchers and companies in Europe working under the CryoHub project sponsored by EU are now developing a cryogenic energy storage system that could reduce carbon emissions from the food sector while providing a convenient way to store wind and solar power. The system will use extra wind and solar electricity to freeze air to cryogenic temperatures, where it becomes liquid, and in the process shrinks by 700 times in volume. The liquid air is stored in insulated low-pressure tanks similar to the ones used for liquid nitrogen and natural gas. When the grid needs electricity, the subzero liquid is pumped into an evaporator where it expands back into a gas that can spin a turbine for electricity. As it expands, the liquid also sucks heat from surrounding air. It can basically provide free cooling for food storage…read more.