The COP26 summit in Glasgow has brought country’s net zero strategy into the spotlight with the government’s 2050 plan receiving widespread criticism for lacking clarity and being inadequate.
The same cannot be said of renewable energy developer Providence Asset Group which unveiled its patented Hydrogen Energy Storage System at the summit.
The LAVO HEOS battery was developed in collaboration with the University of New South Wales and will be manufactured in Australia.
LAVOS combines lithium-ion battery and hydrogen storage to provide a hybrid solution, says Providence co-founder Alan Yu.
He adds: “We believe both technologies have their own unique offering and benefits and we combined them to achieve long duration. Unlike the usual 4 hours, these batteries will have a 6-to-8-hour duration.”
Providence has also developed a hydrogen storage system that it claims drastically reduces the cost of transporting it.
This process produces hydrogen through electrolysis, using renewable energy, and it is then stored in a metal hydride solution from which the hydrogen can be extracted when needed and the by-product of this extraction is to produce electricity.
Alternatively, the solution can be supplied to hydrogen fuelling stations for use in transport and industrial processes.
The scaled-down pilot version of the LAVO HEOS (pictured) is intended for household use and is currently on display at the COP26 Australian Pavilion.
Commercial versions of the battery will be fitted to more than 40 solar farms in Australia that are currently being developed by Providence.
Installation of batteries is expected to commence in 2024.
