LOW-TECH MAGAZINE

Ditch the Batteries: Off-Grid Compressed Air Energy Storage

Going off-grid? Think twice before you invest in a battery system. Compressed air energy storage is the sustainable and resilient alternative to batteries, with much longer life expectancy, lower life cycle costs, technical simplicity, and low maintenance. Designing a compressed air energy storage system that combines high efficiency with small storage size is not self-explanatory, but a growing number of researchers show that it can be done.

History and Future of the Compressed Air Economy

Compressed air energy storage (CAES) is considered to be an important component of a renewable power grid, because it could store surplus power from wind turbines and solar panels on a large scale. However, in its present form, the technology suffers from large energy losses and depends on natural gas to operate.

A look at the 4,000 year long history of compressed air makes clear that this is not unavoidable. Although our ancestors were dependent on less energy efficient technology, they used compressed air in more intelligent configurations that had fewer energy conversion losses and were independent of fossil fuels.

These historical systems hold the key to the design of a low-tech, low-cost, robust, sustainable and relatively energy efficient energy storage medium. The compressed air economy could be the practical and realistic alternative to the hydrogen or all-electric utopias.

Cars on hot air

• Ditch the batteries: off-grid compressed air energy storage
• History and future of the compressed air economy

Following the hype on hydrogen - meet the car on compressed air.

A small car that runs on compressed air is making headlines around the world. The design is a concept from the French engineer Guy Negre, and the Indian car manufacturer Tata Motors is the first to start production of the new vehicle.

If we can believe the news, the zero-emission car has finally arrived. No more pollution, no more CO2. “Amazingly this car is powered by air”, said the BBC in a commentary: “It sounds too good to be true”. In fact, it is too good to be true.