How it works

At times of low energy demand, with associated low costs, the High-Density Fluid R-19 is pumped to the top storage tanks. The low-cost electricity is often provided by abundant renewable energy, such as wind and solar power.

As energy prices rise the HD Fluid R-19 is released and it passes through the turbines, regenerating electricity to supply power to the grid.

Because we use a high-tech fluid with a density 2.5x that of water RheEnergise projects can operate on low hills rather than high mountains.

Projects are 10MW to 100MW of power. This means that they can be connected onto existing grid infrastructure and can be co-located with other renewable energy projects.

The high-tech fluid also means that projects can be 2.5x smaller for the same power. 

65% of pumped energy storage project costs are civil engineering construction costs, making projects 2.5x smaller offers huge savings opportunity.

Benefits

High-Density Hydro® is a scalable and cost-effective energy storage solution which offers the following:

1. Low Cost: Building on over a hundred years' experience with the most widely used form of energy storage means low risk and an established industry to leverage deployment. Being 2.5x smaller, by volume, means dramatically lower construction costs, faster build times, easier reinstatement and easier landscaping.

2. Agile: By innovating in the high-density fluid (R-19) we use, we unlock many hundreds of times more suitable sites. Projects can be installed on hills 2.5x lower than a project using water and still achieve the same power – for example there are so many more hills at 150m than at 300m.

3. Clean : Our innovative fluid R-19 is non-toxic and has been engineered to be non-reactive and non-corrosive. Our plants require smaller footprint and have minimal recyclability and supply chain considerations. 

RheEnergise’s energy storage solution incorporates innovations, including new IP, across six sub-systems:

System set up

Storage tanks (buried) are located at the top and bottom of a small hill.

The storage tanks are connected by underground pipes, called penstocks.

Next to the lower storage tanks there is a power-house containing the pumps and turbines.

Deployment

Our goal is to make low-cost, low-carbon energy more widely available to consumers, while supporting grid reliability and accelerating the clean energy transition. 

HD Hydro® is able to offer:

• Support for industries to decarbonize
• Grid services and Energy Arbitrage
• Firming renewable PPAs
• Support for island grids

In July 2022 the engineering team conducted a series of field tests on a ski hill located just outside Montreal in Canada.

The aim of the test was to prove two hypotheses:

1. To achieve the same power and energy, the water system would need twice the vertical elevation (50m) as compared to the High-Density Hydro system (25m). i.e. the decrease in vertical elevation needed with a High-Density Hydro system is proportionate to the increase in density of the fluid.

2. At the same elevation, double the power or double the energy would be obtained with the high-density hydro solution compared to water. i.e. the increase in density results in an increased power level, compared to water, that is proportionate to the increase in density.

The tests went very well. Data was captured that proved the core hypotheses.