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[In the future, flucuations in electrical power input]
[will increase substantially due to the expansion of environmentally]
[RWE and its partners are responding to this challenge]
[and developing ADELE, an adiabatic]
[compressed air reservoir for use in generating electricity. ]
[The following animation shows how this project works. ]
[Where does the electricity go when there isn't enough demand for it?]
[The system works just like a huge battery]
[that temporarily stores the energy in the form of compressed air. ]
[It all begins with an electrically driven compressor. ]
[Normal ambient air is compressed to around 70 bar.]
[This is about 35 times the pressure of a car tire. ]
[Heat is generated in the same way as an air pump,]
[around 600 degrees Celsius. ]
[With ADELE, the innovation, this heat energy is not wasted, but rather ]
[put to use in an efficient manner.]
[The hot air is forwarded to large heat accumulators]
[that are pressure tight and well-insulated.]
[So they are able to store the precious energy for a long time]
[without incurring appreciable losses. ]
[The compressed air inside the accumulator flows through a branch ]
[network of pipes, through ceramic materials, thereby]
[transfering its heat to them. ]
[Next, the compressed air that has cooled down considerably is]
[passed on to an underground salt cavern. ]
[Salt caverns have been used for decades as storage]
[reservoirs for natural gas, for instance. ]
[This is where the compressed air is stored until it is needed again.]
[When the demand for power changes and more]
[electricity is needed, or the weather changes and calm]
[conditions cause the wind turbines to stop turning, ]
[ADELE can fill in reliably on short notice. ]
[The compressed air inside the caverns that has cooled]
[down to around 40 degrees celcius is released once again.]
[The flow moves towards the turbine under high pressure.]
[To ensure that it doesn't freeze, which would ]
[normally happen, it needs to be heated up inside]
[From here, the air flows to the turbine and rotates its blades. ]
[The generator that produces the electricity]
[is connected to the turbine.]
[The electricity flows into the grid for a short time]
[and thus contributes towards a reliable power supply. ]
[ADELE is thus an ideal puffer ]
[and a flexible partner for expanding the use of renewable energy. ]
