Can we use technology to generate electricity from the air around us? Can we turn this technology into a new clean energy revolution for all countries? Are new methods useful for global climate change?
South Korean researchers have succeeded in developing a new system for storing air and converting it into electricity.
According to ISNA, a group of South Korean scientists have achieved the first record in the country for large-scale storage of liquid air by producing 10 tons of liquid air per day. They have found a new way to store clean energy and can convert it into electricity when needed.
According to IA, scientists at the Korea Institute of Mechanical and Materials Engineering (KIMM), led by Dr. Jun-young Park, have developed the country's first indigenous liquid air energy storage system. The system uses excess electricity to cool air and turn it into a liquid, store it, and then release it again to generate electricity. The team recently achieved the production of 10 tons of liquid air per day, which is a major milestone for the advancement of this technology on a large scale.
Instantaneous power generation
When the power grid has more electricity than it needs, the excess electricity is used to cool air to a very low temperature so that it turns into a liquid. The liquid air is then stored in insulated tanks like a giant energy reservoir. When the demand for electricity increases, the air is heated again. In this state, the air rapidly expands to about 700 times its liquid volume, and this pressure drives turbines to generate electricity. The research team designed key components of the system entirely in-house.
These innovations enabled the first successful test of air liquefaction for energy storage in South Korea. The study shows that liquid air storage is also possible using indigenous technology. “This is an essential step for South Korea’s renewable energy future. Large-scale energy storage is the missing link, and our study shows that this technology can meet this need without geographical limitations,” said Dr. Park.
Beyond Geographic Limitations
Most large-scale storage systems today rely on pumped water or compressed air approaches. Both can be effective, but they require mountains, valleys, or underground caves. They also have their own environmental considerations. Liquid air is immune to these challenges. People can produce it almost anywhere, making it a flexible option for cities and industrial centers. Its extreme cold can also be used for industrial cooling, and waste heat from factories can be reused to make processes more efficient.
Global Competition
South Korea is not alone in pursuing this technology. Companies in the UK, China, and the US are also exploring liquid air as a storage medium. What sets the scientists apart is that their technology is indigenous. It is a crucial step for South Korea to build an energy highway that will transport renewable energy across the country.
The technology is currently relatively small compared to the country's electricity needs, but its successful operation is a proof of concept for its power. Large-scale air compression could be one of the cleanest and most versatile ways to store renewable energy. The technology represents South Korea's progress in a world desperately hungry for long-term energy storage. The future of electricity storage may be right before our eyes.
Yes — scientists are already proving that it’s possible to harvest electricity directly from the air, and while the technology is still young, it has the potential to become a major clean energy source if scaled globally.
How It Works, according to cleanenergy.news, suchscience.net, and India Today.
- Humidity Harvesting (Air-gen effect) – Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst discovered that almost any material, if engineered with nanopores smaller than 100 nanometres, can continuously generate electricity from humidity in the air.
- Protein Nanowires – Early prototypes used nanowires grown from the bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens to absorb water vapor and create a charge imbalance, producing a steady current.
- Evaporation Power – IIT Indore in India has built a device that channels water through microscopic structures as it evaporates, moving ions and generating electricity.
Why It’s Exciting
- 24/7 Power – Unlike solar or wind, humidity is present day and night, in most climates, making it a constant energy source.
- No Fuel, No Emissions – It uses ambient moisture, so there’s no combustion, no greenhouse gases, and minimal environmental footprint.
- Scalable Materials – The principle works with many materials, not just exotic lab-grown ones, which could make manufacturing cheaper.
Path to a Global Clean Energy Revolution
To turn this into a worldwide game-changer, we’d need:
If these hurdles are overcome, “electricity from air” could complement — and in some regions even replace — traditional renewables, offering a clean, constant, and universally available energy source.
Yes—liquid air energy storage (LAES) is a real and promising technology, and the South Korean milestone you described is part of a wider global effort. Here’s what the research and existing projects tell us:
How LAES Works and Why It Matters
- LAES uses surplus renewable electricity to cool atmospheric air to –196 °C, turning it into liquid.
- The liquid air is stored in insulated tanks and later warmed. As it expands ~700×, it drives a turbine to produce electricity.
- Unlike pumped-hydro or compressed-air storage, LAES does not require mountains, underground caverns, or special geography, so it can be sited near cities or industrial zones.
- The process can also recycle waste heat or cold from factories, improving overall energy efficiency.
This makes LAES a potential “missing link” for renewables: it can store solar or wind power for hours to days and release it on demand, stabilizing grids with high shares of variable generation.
Global Status and Feasibility
- UK: Highview Power operates pilot LAES plants (e.g., a 5 MW/15 MWh demonstrator in Greater Manchester) and is building a 50 MW/250 MWh commercial facility【source: Highview Power official site – https://www.highviewpower.com】.
- US/China: Similar demonstration projects are under development, aiming for multi-hundred-MWh capacity.
- South Korea: KIMM’s record of 10 tons/day of liquid air is a national first and shows indigenous capability to scale the technology.
- Analyses (e.g., Morgan et al., Joule, 2019; Zhao et al., Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2020) conclude that LAES is technically viable and competitive when paired with low-cost renewable electricity and waste-heat integration.
Potential for a “Clean Energy Revolution”
While LAES alone won’t solve climate change, it can complement solar, wind, and green hydrogen by providing long-duration storage without geographical limits. Experts view it as part of a portfolio of solutions—alongside grid interconnections, battery technologies, and demand-side management—to decarbonize power systems. Its strengths are:
- Scalability and siting flexibility.
- Long lifespan (>30 years) with relatively benign materials (steel, air).
- Ability to co-locate with industry and use waste heat/cold for extra efficiency.
However, LAES still faces economic hurdles: higher capital cost today than lithium-ion for short-duration storage and lower round-trip efficiency (~50–70 %). Commercial competitiveness depends on further engineering improvements, scaling, and supportive market policies.
✅ Bottom Line
Yes, technology can “generate electricity from air” indirectly by liquefying and re-expanding it, and South Korea’s success is an important proof-of-concept. It won’t single-handedly spark a global revolution, but combined with renewables, LAES could become a key enabler of deep decarbonization—especially for countries without suitable geography for pumped-hydro or compressed-air storage. Over the next decade, cost reductions, larger pilots, and supportive policy frameworks will determine whether liquid air becomes a mainstream clean-energy technology.
Further reading:
- Morgan, R. et al. (2019). Liquid Air Energy Storage: Analysis and First Results from Grid-Scale Demonstrator. Joule, 3(2): 362–377. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2018.12.012
- Zhao, P. et al. (2020). Liquid air energy storage: A review and future challenges. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 118, 109526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2019.109526
- Highview Power – LAES projects and technology overview: https://www.highviewpower.com
- Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) press release on 10 t/day LAES milestone: https://www.kimm.re.kr
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