The government has awarded £30 million to innovative projects aimed at capturing and storing renewable energy for later use.

This funding will help businesses in Scotland and Nottingham to design and test new technology that will modernise the UK’s energy system and store renewable energy.

Renewable energy generation often creates excess electricity on windy, sunny days. Energy storage technology will soak up this excess energy for later use, maximising the use of renewable energy and boosting energy security while lowering costs for consumers.

The government’s funding will support three winning projects, including Synchrostor in Edinburgh, Scotland, which will receive £9.4 million to build a Pumped Thermal Energy Storage grid-connected demonstration plant. Invinity in Scotland will receive £11 million to develop and manufacture the largest vanadium flow battery in the UK.

Finally, Cheesecake Energy Ltd in Nottingham will receive £9.4 million to test their FlexiTanker technology that stores electricity using a combination of thermal and compressed air energy storage.

Today’s announcement is part of the government’s Powering Up Britain plan to boost the country’s energy security and independence, create green British jobs and stay at the forefront of the transition to net zero.