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RheEnergise to provide hydro energy storage technology to Chile’s Colbún

RheEnergise to provide hydro energy storage technology to Chile’s Colbún

Power generation company Colbún in Chile has signed an agreement with RheEnergise to explore the potential deployment of RheEnergise’s long-duration hydro-energy storage, known as High-Density Hydro® (HD Hydro).

Colbún and RheEnergise will work together to evaluate the feasibility of building a 10 MW, 10-hour HD Hydro system. Colbún sees the deployment of RheEnergise’s HD Hydro as a way to complement its existing portfolio of hydropower, wind and solar projects through a new technology that could solve the problem of intermittency of renewable energy, according to a release.

RheEnergise will undertake investigations and technical studies of potential sites for its HD Hydro system, while Colbún will provide RheEnergise with local market knowledge and advice on planning and permitting and on utility connections.

Subject to the outcome of this work, to be carried out over the next 12 months, the two companies are aiming to have their first 10 MW scheme in commercial operation by 2030.

RheEnergise’s HD Hydro storage system uses an environmentally benign fluid that is 2.5 times denser than water and which can provide 2.5 times the power when compared to a conventional low-density hydro-power system, the company said. The High-Density Fluid R-19™ is pumped uphill between storage tanks (buried underground). The storage tanks are connected by underground pipes. Projects will range from 10 MW to 100 MW of power and can work with vertical elevations as low as 100 m or less.

“Innovation is key for the energy transition. Technological advances in solar and wind power makes them the leading sources of green energy in many parts of the world,” said Diego García, Colbún’s Innovation Manager. “Now, we need new storage solutions to cope with the intermittency of renewable energy, and the technology that RheEnergise is developing could have a key role in this regard.”

Colbún is dedicated to generating and commercializing power and providing energy solutions. It has 27 power plants in Chile and Peru, more than 1,000 employees, and an installed capacity of around 4,000 MW. It has a roadmap to double in size by 2030, based on renewable energy and energy solutions that support its customers’ sustainability goals.