Researchers have uncovered a way to improve the efficiency of a type of grid-scale storage crucial for a global transition toward renewable energy.

Moving toward net-zero carbon emissions means dealing with the intermittent, unpredictable nature of green power sources such as wind and solar and also overcoming supply and demand mismatches, said OSU’s Nick AuYeung, who led the study along with Ph.D. student Fuqiong Lei.

Those challenges, AuYeung notes, necessitate energy storage through means beyond pumped hydro plants, which feature a turbine between two water reservoirs of different elevations, and huge lithium-ion batteries.

The computer modeling study spearheaded by AuYeung, associate professor of chemical engineering, and Lei found that one of those additional energy storage technologies, compressed air, could be improved via chemical reactions.

The reversible reactions can absorb energy in the form of heat and subsequently conserve energy that would otherwise be lost.

Findings, published in Energy Conversion and Management, are also applicable to a related technology, liquid air energy storage, AuYeung said.

Story Source: Materials provided by Oregon State University. Original written by Steve Lundeberg. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.