During charging, excess electricity powers air liquefaction through compression, cooling, and expansion cycles that remove heat and moisture. Liquid air is stored in insulated tanks at atmospheric pressure, eliminating explosion risks. During discharge, liquid air is pumped to high pressure, heated using stored waste heat, and expanded through turbines to generate electricity. Advanced systems capture waste heat during charging to improve round-trip efficiency.
Uses abundant air as storage medium with no geographical constraints or rare materials, provides 4-8 hour duration storage suitable for grid balancing, and has 30-40 year operational lifespan with minimal degradation. The technology is environmentally benign with no toxic materials or emissions. LAES systems can provide ancillary services including frequency regulation and voltage support. Components use established industrial technologies reducing technical risk.
Moderate round-trip efficiency of 50-70% compared to 85-95%[1] for lithium batteries, requires significant infrastructure investment for large-scale deployment, and has high upfront capital costs of $1,000-2,000 per kW[1]. Complex system design requires skilled operators and maintenance. Heat management is critical for efficiency optimization.