Subsea 7, FLASC get govt grant for offshore energy storage system

Subsea 7 and technology partner FLASC have secured a £471,760 grant from the UK government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to further develop an innovative offshore energy storage system.

The Long Duration Offshore Storage Bundle, called PowerBundle, will store energy as a combination of pressurized seawater and compressed air, using innovative hydro-pneumatic technology.

The concept will combine FLASC’s proprietary Hydro-Pneumatic Energy Storage (HPES) technology and Subsea 7’s subsea pipeline bundle technology.

“We are very pleased to have our innovative solution recognised by BEIS, as it builds on our proactive participation in the energy transition,” said Liam Macintrye, Subsea 7 strategic director – Energy Transition.

“The development of energy storage solutions plays a crucial role in the future of intermittent renewable power sources, and the interconnectivity of our energy systems. We believe such systems will not only unlock additional grid connected offshore wind, but it could also play a valuable role in decarbonising oil and gas assets.”

Funding has been awarded as part of the Longer Duration Energy Storage (LODES) Competition which recognizes the transition to increasing wind-generated renewable energy, which presents growing opportunities for storage systems that support a secure, flexible and reliable electrical power supply.

Including PowerBundle’s grant, nearly £7 million is awarded to 24 UK projects in this first round of government-backed competition.

The competition will be delivered through two phases. In phase 1, projects will be expected to mobilize their proposed technologies to prepare for potential deployment on the UK energy system.

Successful proposals will receive further funding for phase 2, to build and test a grid-connected full-system demonstrator of the proposed technology and qualify it through testing. A formal stage-gate review will take place between phase 1 and phase 2 of the competition. Work has already commenced for phase 1.