Compressed Gas Energy Storage is Full of Hot Air
The thermodynamics of compressing and even liquifying gases are unforgiving physical limits
Three years ago, I published my projection of grid storage demand and solutions through 2060. At the time, various compressed gas electricity storage solutions such as compressed air, liquid air, and liquid carbon dioxide were in my also-ran technologies. My review of the literature over the preceding years had made it clear to me that they had intractable efficiency challenges and siting constraints, and as such wouldn’t scale.
But that was an outside view. Subsequently, I’ve been spending a lot more time on thermodynamics and operational requirements of solutions, and even a professional engagement assessing a compressed gas solution. Yes, they knew I was skeptical and STEM-oriented, and they wanted that.
Some Context For Compressing Gases For Energy Storage
Compressing gases and making useful energy out of them is one of those deeply intuitive solutions, so intuitive that it seduces people every decade into thinking that they’ve magically found something others haven’t. It’s also useful for seducing money out of gullible people’s pockets for much the same reason.
