Hydrostor

About

Hydrostor Australia builds A-CAES plants that compress and store air in repurposed underground caverns, capture and reuse heat, and reheat air to drive turbines for inertia and frequency regulation.

Mission

Hydrostor Australia is deploying Advanced Compressed Air Energy Storage (A-CAES) and will construct a 5 MW / 10 MWh fuel-free facility that stores compressed air in a below-ground cavern repurposed from the Angas Zinc Mine. The system uses grid electricity to compress air, captures and stores heat during charging, and reheats released air to drive a turbine on discharge. The facility is designed to provide synchronous inertia, load shifting, frequency regulation and other grid-security services while remaining emissions-free. The $30 million commercial demonstration project is sited at Strathalbyn, 60 kilometres southeast of Adelaide, converting a brownfield mine into a clean-energy hub. Hydrostor received $6 million in funding from ARENA and $3 million from the South Australian Government toward the demonstration. The company positions A-CAES as a dispatchable, fuel-free complement to pumped hydro with flexible siting advantages.

Quick Facts