The Advanced Clean Energy Storage (ACES) project launched by Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) in central Utah, USA is a significant step taken towards a decarbonised future for a modern power grid.
Described as the largest renewable energy storage facility in the world, the ACES project is based on innovative gas turbine technology developed by MHPS that will allow a mixture of renewable hydrogen and natural gas to produce power with much lower carbon emissions.
The MHPS technology roadmap aims to use 100 percent renewable hydrogen as a fuel source, which will allow gas turbines to produce electricity with zero carbon emissions.
The ACES project will develop 1,000 megawatts of 100 percent clean energy storage at the Utah facility.
Carnegie Mellon University researchers have attributed the 30 percent drop in carbon emissions from the US power sector since 2005 to a combination of natural gas and renewable power replacing retiring coal-fired power plants.
As the global leader in the manufacture of heavy duty gas turbines, MHPS has been instrumental in this transition. The new gas turbine technology is the next step in decarbonisation.
The ACES project will initially serve the needs of 150,000 households for an entire year. Four types of clean energy storage technologies will be deployed at utility scale including renewable hydrogen, compressed air energy storage, large scale flow batteries, and solid oxide fuel cells.
For the ACES project, MHPS is partnering with Magnum Development; while Magnum has the below-ground technologies necessary to store energy at utility scale, MHPS will contribute above-ground technologies such as hydrogen-fired gas turbines, compressed air storage, solid oxide fuel cells and battery storage technology to supply electricity at grid scale.
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