TEL AVIV, ISRAEL – Augwind Energy, a publicly listed pioneer in air-based energy technologies, today announced its intention to build the world’s first industrial-scale AirBattery project in Germany. This facility represents a significant leap forward. It will be the inaugural operational installation of Augwind’s AirBattery Hydraulic Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) technology designed for grid-scale storage, capable of holding energy for up to months at a time. This marks a game-changer for the global energy transition.
Regions across central Europe, including Germany, frequently experience ‘Dunkelflautes.’ These are prolonged periods of low solar and wind output that severely challenge grid stability. Augwind’s AirBattery offers a resilient buffer against this intermittency. It provides backup power for up to several months. This capability helps utilities, grid operators, and traders manage renewable intermittency and stabilize electricity markets.
Innovative Technology for Resilient Grids
Augwind’s revolutionary AirBattery system ingeniously combines two well-established technologies. It merges pumped hydroelectric principles with compressed air storage. The system circulates water between vast underground chambers to compress and decompress air on an industrial scale. Excess energy compresses air to pressures ranging from 50 bar to over 200 bar, depending on demand and the cavern’s geomorphic structure. This pressurized air then feeds into vast underground caverns, some larger than the Empire State Building.
Effectively, excess renewable energy is stored for times when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow. A typical cavern possesses the potential to store enough compressed air to generate 3-8 GWh of electricity. Recovering the energy from the system is straightforward. High-pressure air simply returns through the water-filled chambers, streaming water to spin a turbine and generate electricity. Augwind has already demonstrated a 47% AC-to-AC round-trip efficiency at its AirBattery facility in Israel. This validates that commercial installations will exceed 60%.
The first commercial-scale AirBattery facility in Germany will utilize a mined salt cavern. This type of cavern is ideally suited for such long-duration energy storage. The cavern will serve as a low-cost, high-capacity compressed-air reservoir, enabling scalable and cost-effective energy storage for up to several months. This vital capability is crucial as Europe accelerates its efforts to increase renewable energy penetration beyond 50%.
Milestone for Net Zero and European Energy Security
Or Yogev, Founder and CEO of Augwind, underscored the project’s importance. “This is more than a project; it’s a milestone for achieving net zero,” Yogev stated. “With the AirBattery, we’re introducing a storage solution that finally matches the scale and rhythm of renewable energy. Germany’s redundant salt caverns, industrial leadership, and climate ambition make it the perfect launchpad for our first commercial deployment.”
Augwind’s goal is to become Europe’s preferred partner for multiweek storage solutions. “With this German launch, we are proving that long term energy storage to balance the grid is not only technically feasible, but it’s economically sound,” Yogev added.
With an initial target commissioning window of 2027–2028, Augwind is now working closely with local cavern owners, utilities, energy traders, and industrial off-takers. Their collaboration aims to secure permitting and finalize the system design. This project will not only showcase the techno-economic viability of Augwind’s Hydraulic CAES. It will also lay the groundwork for broader deployment across Europe by 2030.
Future-Proofing the Energy Transition: Beyond Critical Minerals
The AirBattery system offers incredibly economical and sustainable storage for up to months, distinguishing it from alternatives like Lithium-Ion batteries and traditional hydro storage. Crucially, the technology does not rely on critical minerals such as Lithium, Nickel, Cobalt, or Manganese. Many of these minerals depend on complex supply chains often dominated by Chinese manufacturers. Instead, the AirBattery utilizes locally sourced supplies and labor. It also requires a minimal volume of water, which it maintains in a closed system.
The AirBattery system can operate using locally produced renewable excess electricity. This reduces stress on the electricity grid and simultaneously strengthens independence from volatile international energy markets.
Addressing the Energy Goal Policy Triangle
The AirBattery solution contributes meaningfully to all three pillars of the “Energy Policy Goal Triangle”:
- Security of Supply: By storing energy for weeks, AirBattery provides crucial backup power during extended periods of low renewable generation (Dunkelflaute). This will become more frequent as Germany phases out coal and nuclear while accelerating its transition to renewables. It directly enhances security of supply by reducing dependency on energy imports. This role gained fresh urgency following Germany’s exposure during the Russian gas crisis. Augwind’s AirBattery helps shield the energy system from such external shocks, fostering geopolitical stability.
- Affordability: The system significantly reduces multi-billion-Euro re-dispatch costs. This occurs when wind and solar parks are paid to shut down during oversupply (curtailment). Additionally, air batteries can prevent unnecessary energy grid expansions. Since storage happens near major wind generation areas (especially off- and onshore in Northern Germany), the grid can avoid transporting peak loads southward. Ultimately, this results in a decrease in short-term price volatility, stabilizing electricity costs for consumers and industry alike.
- Sustainability: AirBattery enables more effective integration of solar and wind energy. This reduces pressure on existing grids and actively supports the expansion of renewable energy projects. Consequently, it accelerates the transition while reducing long-term energy costs for industry and households.
The AirBattery system boasts several key advantages: unlimited duration potential (limited only by cavern volume), exceptionally low cost per kWh for multiweek durations (10-15 USD per kWh), minimal environmental footprint, and a modular and scalable design. Its novel combination of proven technologies ensures stable, local supply chain structures, high redundancy, and high availability. These benefits strengthen the energy transition and lessen dependence on international markets. The German engineering company Fichtner Group has validated its cost and performance.
