Comprehensive Review of Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) Technologies

Abstract

In recent years, liquid air energy storage (LAES) has gained prominence as an alternative to existing large-scale electrical energy storage solutions such as compressed air (CAES) and pumped hydro energy storage (PHES), especially in the context of medium-to-long-term storage. LAES offers a high volumetric energy density, surpassing the geographical constraints that hinder current mature energy storage technologies. The basic principle of LAES involves liquefying and storing air to be utilized later for electricity generation. Although the liquefaction of air has been studied for many years, the concept of using LAES “cryogenics” as an energy storage method was initially proposed in 1977 and has recently gained renewed attention. With the growing need for alternative energy storage methods, researchers have increasingly explored the potential of cryogenic media, leading to the development of the first LAES pilot plant and a growing body of research on LAES systems. However, one notable drawback of LAES is its relatively low round-trip efficiency, estimated to be around 50–60% for large-scale systems. However, due to its thermo-mechanical nature, LAES offers versatility and can be easily integrated with other thermal energy systems or energy sources across a wide range of applications. Most of the existing literature on LAES focuses on thermodynamic and economic analyses, examining various LAES configurations, and there is a clear lack of experimental studies in this field. This paper aims to conduct a comprehensive review of LAES technology, with a focus on the performance enhancement of these systems. Future perspectives indicate that hybrid LAES solutions, incorporating efficient waste energy recovery sections, hold the most promise for enhancing the tech-no-economic performance of standalone LAES systems.