Overview of Current Development in Compressed Air Energy Storage Technology

With the rapid growth in electricity demand, it has been recognized that Electrical Energy Storage (EES) can bring numerous benefits to power system operation and energy management. Alongside Pumped Hydroelectric Storage (PHS), Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) is one of the commercialized EES technologies in large-scale available. Furthermore, the new advances in adiabatic CAES integrated with renewable energy power generation can provide a promising approach to achieving low-carbon targets. The small-scale CAES facilities are also attracting attention for more flexible power system applications. This paper will present an overview of different types of multi-scale CAES, including their working principles, current development, typical technical and economic characteristics, existing facilities, application potentials, challenges and issues associated with the future development of CAES.