KIMM develops core technologies for liquid air energy storage to support Korea’s energy superhighway
First domestically developed turbo expander and cold box pave the way for large-scale, long-duration energy storage
image: Principal Researcher Dr. Jun Young Park (right) inspects the turbo expander developed for a large-scale, long-duration Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) system.
Credit: Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM)
As renewable energy adoption accelerates, stabilizing the power grid and mitigating output intermittency have become critical. The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (President Seog-Hyeon Ryu, hereinafter “KIMM”), under the National Research Council of Science and Technology (NST), has successfully developed and demonstrated key technologies for a Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) system—recognized as a next-generation solution for large-scale, long-duration energy storage.
The KIMM research team, led by Principal Researcher Dr. Jun Young Park at the Department of Energy Storage Systems, independently designed and manufactured a turbo expander and cold box, achieving Korea’s first successful air liquefaction test for energy storage. The system can produce up to 10 tons of liquid air per day, providing a foundation for future commercialization.
LAES stores surplus electricity by liquefying air at ultra-low temperatures, then vaporizing and expanding the pressurized liquid air to generate power during peak demand. Unlike pumped hydro or compressed air energy storage, which require specific geographical conditions and face environmental constraints, LAES offers site flexibility and additional benefits, including cooling and waste heat utilization.
KIMM’s innovations include a high-speed turbo expander with static gas bearings for stable rotation exceeding 100,000 RPM and a hollow shaft with thermal insulation that prevents heat ingress at ambient temperature. The cold box, employing multi-layer insulation and an ultra-high vacuum to reduce heat ingress, also recycles cold energy from power generation for more efficient liquefaction.
“Large-scale energy storage is essential for Korea’s renewable energy future,” said Principal Researcher Jun Young Park. “Our achievement positions LAES as a viable, eco-friendly solution, free from geographical limitations, and accelerates the pathway to commercialization.”
This research was conducted in collaboration with KIMM’s Liquid Hydrogen Technology Research Center and Gimhae Cryogenic Machinery Demonstration Research Center under the core project, “Development of Core Machinery Technologies for Large-Scale Liquid Air Energy Storage.”
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The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) is a non-profit government-funded research institute under the Ministry of Science and ICT. Since its foundation in 1976, KIMM is contributing to economic growth of the nation by performing R&D on key technologies in machinery and materials, conducting reliability test evaluation, and commercializing the developed products and technologies.