UK's National Grid launches trial of compressed-air backup power

A subidiary of Chester, England-based Energetix Group (AIM:EGX) said today it signed a deal to send a compressed-air system to provide backup power to the National Grid's 275-kiloVolt switchyard in Capenhurst, Cheshire.

The trial of Energetix Pnu Power's system is expected to support relay and circuit breaker switching, which requires high levels of system integrity, the company says.

The company says the compressed-air energy storage technology is in direct competition with valve-regulated lead acid (VRLA) batteries. Compressed-air has the advantage of no chemicals, more reliable power, and cheaper lifecycle cost, the company claims.

Additionally, compressed-air systems are unaffected by extreme temperatures, unlike VLRA batteries that require expensive infrastructure and air conditioning, it said.

Energetix has already conducted trials of the technology for telecom provider Telecom Italia, as well as aerospace and defense company P&E Automation, but has identified utility switching as a key target market.

"This order, from the UK’s largest operator of such equipment, is an important step forward as Energetix Pnu Power commercializes its back-up power technology," said Neil Bright, Operations Director of Energetix Group, in a news release.

Shares of the company were up more than 6 percent at the close of trading today.

Tata Motors is also exploring compressed-air technology for vehicles for India’s market (see India's Tata funds air-power car). The Scuderi Group developed technology for air-hybrid internal combustion aircraft engines (see New hybrid engine for aircraft to use compressed air).

Energetix offers the compressed-air systems from 600 watts to 10 kilowatts, although the company is testing a 50-kW unit.

Other subsidiaries of the company provide micro combined heat and power distributed generation systems, and voltage management devices for energy efficiency.