We’re delighted to announce that Cheesecake Energy (CEL) has been awarded funding as part of the BEIS Energy Entrepreneurs Fund. The funding will support product development of CEL’s eTanker system and help to improve cost competitiveness as a critical first step in scaling up to mass manufacture. 

The Energy Entrepreneurs Fund (EEF) is a BEIS competitive funding scheme to support the development and demonstration of state-of-the-art technologies, products and processes in the areas of energy efficiency, power generation, and heat and electricity storage. 

CEL’s unique eTanker technology, takes established compressed air energy storage concepts and revolutionises them by storing two-thirds of the electricity in the form of heat which can be stored at far lower cost. To store the energy, electric motors are used to drive compressors, which deliver high pressure air & heat into storage units. When the electricity is required, the high-pressure air and heat is passed back through the same compressor (but now working as an expander), which turns a generator to produce electricity. Our system will cut the cost of storing energy by 30-40% and offers a solution that can be used in several sectors including electric vehicle (EV) charging, heavy industry and renewable energy generation. 

As part of the project, Cheesecake Energy is seeking to develop an integrated heat exchanger and thermal store demonstrator unit, using solid rock particles with enhanced thermal conductivity. This offers three benefits: a reduction in capital cost, a reduction in system volume and an improvement in system efficiency. These advances will significantly advance CEL’s commercialisation plans, making eTanker systems available to customers globally. 

Commenting on the funding, CEL CEO Mike Simpson said: