One of the most crucial and increasingly scarce sources on Earth is water. It holds tremendous power, as without it, all living organisms would cease to exist. However, its purpose stretches beyond sustaining life. Recently, a new scientific milestone was achieved by “breaking gravity” with water, redefining the way we have been exploiting this source for practical purposes since 1882. This groundbreaking achievement has the potential to reshape water’s role in the transition to renewable energy sources.
Floating the idea of power production with water
We all know that water is a crucial source in agriculture and industrial processes, but it also has the potential to assist the transition away from fossil fuels, as it can also be a key source to produce clean power. However, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), in modern days, this source has been overlooked. Yet, historically, power production with water, or hydropower, has played a significant role in the U.S. as a renewable source.
According to the Department of Energy, in 1880, Michigan became the first state to use hydropower to produce power for a storefront and a theatre. Two years later, Appleton, Wisconsin, broke ground by becoming the first worldwide to open a hydroelectric plant for commercial power production. By 1949, hydropower was responsible for a third of the U.S.’s power production.
However, this power source has been greatly overlooked due to its geographical limitations, such as requiring adequate water flow and high elevation, and due to its high upfront costs for construction.
Breaking ground by breaking gravity: A new scientific milestone with water
A UK-based company called RheEnergise may have solved a nearly two-century-old problem. While hydropower has always been associated with dams of significant scale, such as the Himalayan dam, which is bigger than the Three Gorges, all of that could now change. RheEnergise has achieved a scientific milestone with an exclusive fluid known as R-19.
R-19 transforms hydropower into a long-term energy storage solution. The fluid is 2.5 times denser than water, enabling the same output of power production with slopes that are less than half the height. These results were obtained from the company’s commercial pilot plant, located at Cornwood’s old Sibelco Cornish clay mine in Devon.
How it works
R-19 is pumped uphill to storage tanks during low power costs. During peak power demands, turbines release the liquid back downhill.
Generating benefits beyond power
The pilot plant reportedly has a peak output of 500 kW, which is enough to provide power to nearly 400 homes annually. According to RheEnergise CEO Stephen Crosher, while this output may seem modest, it was enough to receive the needed support to expand the project to a commercial scale. The company is presently negotiating with private developers across the UK, North America, Spain, Poland, and Italy.
If successful, these countries can expect construction of commercial projects to commence within three years. In the UK, the benefits of this reformed approach to exploiting hydropower go beyond clean power production, such as:
- Increased access to hydropower across approximately 6,500 sites
- More sustainable long-term energy storage compared to batteries
- Strategic approach to decarbonize the energy-intensive industry
With the global energy demand growing at an exponential pace, the need for adequate long-term energy storage solutions has never been greater than it is now. The scientific milestone of R-19 not only opens new doors for hydropower but also has great potential to accelerate the transition to renewable energy solutions, now that there is a new possible way to store excess energy in the long run. Thanks to water, the future is looking a little greener. In conclusion, when it comes to hydropower, we should give a “dam.”
