Augwind reveals plans for commercial air storage

AirBattery uses twin underground chambers that exchange water to compress and decompress air at large scales, with subterranean salt caverns then storing the compressed air for weeks or even months at a time. According to Augwind, the system can provide air at pressures from 50 bar to above 200 bar, depending on demand and the geomorphic structure of the cavern.

Energy is recovered from the system by returning the high-pressure air back through the water filled chambers and streaming the water to spin a turbine and generate electricity. Augwind claims its demonstrator facility in Israel has already reached a 47 per cent AC-to-AC round-trip efficiency and it expects commercial-scale installations to exceed 60 per cent.

The company says a typical salt cavern can store enough compressed air to generate 3-8GWh of electricity, providing electricity at a cost of $10-15 per kWh. It’s claimed Germany already has over 400 caverns suitable for AirBattery. Though the site of the first installation is yet to be confirmed, Augwind expects commissioning to take place in 2027-2028.