Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham officially marked the commencement of construction at Highview’s 300MWh liquid air energy storage (LAES) facility in Carrington, UK.
The groundbreaking ceremony at Trafford Low Carbon Energy Park welcomed Burnham alongside Highview CEO Richard Butland, Chairman Colin Roy, and Andrew Western, MP for Stretford and Urmston, as construction begins on the facility scheduled for operation by late 2026.
Highview claims that the project is the world’s largest commercial-scale plant of its kind.
The Carrington plant will deliver 50MW/300MWh of storage capability for six hours. The facility will integrate with existing substation and transmission infrastructure while incorporating a stability island designed to enhance local grid resilience against outages and blackouts.
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Highview’s liquid air energy storage system captures excess renewable energy during periods of low demand, storing it as liquid air for hours, days, or weeks.
When required, the stored air expands to generate electricity, delivering dispatchable power without emissions. The technology operates without degradation for 40 to 50 years and provides fully locatable, modular deployment capabilities.
The system addresses critical challenges in renewable energy integration, firming intermittent wind and solar generation while reducing curtailment and supporting the transition from fossil fuel dependency.
Highview secured £300 million (US$392.4 million) in funding last year from the National Wealth Fund, Centrica, and a syndicate including Rio Tinto, Goldman Sachs, KIRKBI and Mosaic Capital to construct the Carrington facility.
This investment follows the company’s previous funding achievements, including £130 million secured for its Scottish stability island project earlier this month. The Stability Island is an independent synchronous condenser and power electronics facility which will help stabilise the grid alongside Highview’s planned energy storage project at that site.
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