Airengy announced the signing of an additional partnership agreement to explore and assess the potential and feasibility of long-duration compressed air energy storage in Nobian-operated salt cavern in Denmark with a capacity of 2.5 GWh (2,500 megawatt-hours) and an output of in the range of 3–10 megawatts.
The power plant is planned to be connected to an existing salt cavern in Denmark operated by Nobian, a European leader in high-purity salt, low-carbon essential chemicals and underground energy storage caverns. The collaboration will focus on evaluating Airengy’s AirBattery technology.
This is the fourth power-plant partnership across Europe announced by Airengy, following the plant in England (in partnership with KISTOS), Romania (in partnership with Hagag Europe), and Germany (in partnership with SEFE). The new agreement completes the company’s strategy of establishing operations throughout its key target markets.
Under the agreement, Nobian will be responsible for performing the works relating to the salt cavern, including regulatory, and permitting processes, local communication, stakeholder management, and the related infrastructure, and it will remain the license holder and the operator of the cavern. Airengy will be responsible for the AirBattery system design, air compression, and electricity generation using the proprietary technology it developed. The project is aimed at developing a energy generation capacity potential of approximately 2.5 gigawatt-hours using Airengy’s compressed-air technology connected to an existing cavern.
The project is part of the implementation of the two-phase strategy published by Airengy in December: in the first phase, the company will form partnerships for the construction and design of power plants with an output of 1–1.5 megawatts in Romania and England, while in parallel advancing the establishment of large-scale power plants in Romania and now Denmark as well.
Louwrens op de Beek, Director Energy Storage at Nobian: “At Nobian, we see large-scale energy storage as a critical building block of a reliable and affordable renewable energy system. By exploring the combination of our salt cavern expertise with Airengy’s innovative technology, we aim to unlock new ways to store and release energy over longer periods, helping to reduce grid congestion. This collaboration fits perfectly with our Grow Greener Together strategy and our ambition to be a balancing partner in the energy system in Denmark.”
Maj. Gen. (res.) Yiftah Ron-Tal, Chairman of Airengy: “The agreement with Nobian continues and advances our deployment into our European target markets and proves the company’s implementation capabilities. The collaboration connects Airengy’s energy-storage technology with existing geological infrastructure and industry know-how and demonstrates our ability to create partnerships with leading companies in strategic markets. We intend to continue forming additional partnerships that will accelerate the company’s growth and strengthen its standing in the global storage market.”
Tal Raz, CEO of Airengy: “The agreement with Nobian marks another significant milestone in Airengy’s development. Nobian is a European leader in salt mining and production, low-carbon essential chemicals and underground energy storage caverns development, with decades of experience, strategic assets, and first-rate engineering capabilities. Nobian’s decision to collaborate with Airengy constitutes a strong expression of confidence in the technology we have developed and, in our ability to lead large-scale commercial projects. This partnership strengthens Airengy’s ability to advance additional commercial projects and to become a leading player in long-duration energy-storage infrastructure in Europe.
In parallel with the continued development of compressed-air-based energy-storage systems for the electricity grid, Airengy is exploring an expansion of its operations into the data-centers field, which is expected to be one of the most significant growth engines in demand for energy infrastructure over the coming decade. We believe that the CAPP technology we have developed, combined with strategic partnerships such as Nobian, can serve as a basis for advanced energy solutions for this market too.
We believe the coming decade will be defined by the construction of new energy infrastructure for electricity grids, industry, and data centers. Our goal is to position Airengy as one of Europe’s leading companies in long-duration energy solutions for these markets.”
