Oxy-fuel concept sustains electricity grid demand

The concept would heat super-chilled liquid nitrogen to its boiling point and use the hot gas to drive turbines that will generate electricity when energy demand is at its peak.

Studies show electricity drawn from the national grid varies at different times of day – peaking in the early evening for a couple of hours after school and working hours. There are also the notorious short-lived spikes such as the moment when millions put the kettle on during a Coronation Street ad break.

But matching the highs and lows in demand with a steady supply is a major challenge. Energy companies typically top up a ‘base’ supply of energy with electricity from power plants that are just switched on to cope with the peaks. However, the gas-fired generators often used to feed these peaks are notoriously inefficient and expensive to run and sit idle for long periods of time.

Yulong Ding, a professor of engineering at Leeds University, and his fellow researchers believe their concept is more environmentally friendly and less expensive to run.