Babcock & Wilcox (NYSE:BW) announced it has been awarded a contract to conduct an engineering study for Cache Power Corp.’s Marguerite Lake Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) and Hydrogen Hub Project in Alberta, Canada.
The study, partially funded by a grant from Alberta Innovates, will examine the use of B&W’s BrightLoop technology to support the planned 640-megawatt facility near La Corey. The project will be constructed in two identical 320-megawatt phases.
The CAES facility will store renewable energy from the grid in underground salt caverns as compressed air, which will later be released to generate electricity when needed. B&W’s technology is expected to produce up to 60 tonnes of hydrogen per day for the facility while capturing carbon dioxide for storage, enabling net-zero emissions operation.
“Our project represents a major step toward clean, dispatchable and long-duration energy storage in Alberta,” said Cache Power President Jordan Costley in the press release.
The facility will be built adjacent to the existing Marguerite Lake substation and is designed to use either natural gas or hydrogen to reheat compressed air before it passes through turbines to generate electricity.
B&W’s BrightLoop process uses a proprietary oxide particle for producing steam, hydrogen or syngas while isolating carbon dioxide. The technology can operate with various solid and gaseous fuels and feedstocks.
Cache Power Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Federation Group Inc., an engineering and construction company based in Bonnyville, Alberta.
