Italian Sizable Energy Tests Offshore Energy Storage Technology

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Italian startup Sizable Energy has launched testing of offshore energy storage technology at the Natural Ocean Engineering Laboratory (NOEL) off the coast of Calabria, Italy, a system designed to store electricity generated by offshore wind farms and other renewable energy sources.

The demonstration unit was installed in April at the offshore test site of the University Mediterranea of Reggio Calabria, featuring a floating reservoir with a diameter of 50 meters as its main structure.

According to Sizable Energy, the system operates on the same principle as pumped hydro storage, but instead of relying on elevation differences between mountain reservoirs, it leverages hydrostatic pressure and gravity to store energy at sea. During energy storage, surplus renewable electricity pumps a concentrated saline solution into the floating reservoir; when electricity demand rises, the liquid is released into a second reservoir on the seabed, driving turbines to generate power.

The company states that this technology under development aims to provide an alternative to Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).

On July 29, France-headquartered global logistics provider GEODIS announced that it had undertaken the engineering design for the launching, towing, and installation of Sizable Energy's offshore storage tank. The scope of work covers lifting, transportation, and installation, including crane positioning, lift plan development, towage procedure preparation, mooring operations, and on-site technical supervision during deployment.

GEODIS noted that the offshore reservoir weighs approximately 11 tons, and the structural launch requires a crane with a lifting capacity of 350 tons and a working radius of about 50 meters, while meeting site and environmental constraints.

As planned, testing activities at NOEL will validate the technology at a pre-industrial scale and refine the launch and installation methods before commercial deployment.