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Beyond Lithium, Part 1: Hydrostor’s Advanced Compressed Air Energy Storage (4.8.26)

Brief

Hydrostor’s advanced compressed-air energy storage (A-CAES) technology was presented in a Clean Energy Group “Beyond Lithium” webinar (April 8, 2026). The presentation explained how A-CAES provides long-duration capacity (demonstrated by a 500 MW/4,000 MWh Kern County project), where it is being deployed, and commercialization, cost, safety, and policy considerations, followed by a Q&A.

Why it matters

Hydrostor’s advanced compressed air energy storage (A-CAES) is being developed in the U.S., Canada, and Australia, including a planned 500 MW / 4,000 MWh deployment in Kern County, California.

Key details

  • The webinar (April 8, 2026; published April 9, 2026) featured Manuel Esquivel, Hydrostor Senior Manager of Regulatory Affairs, presenting technology, deployments, and commercialization details; session moderated by Seth Mullendore of Clean Energy Group.
  • A-CAES targets long-duration needs—multi-day weather events, seasonal variability, and extended peak demand—that are often uneconomical or technically challenging for lithium-ion battery systems to address.
Source evidence

Slides: https://www.cleanegroup.org/wp-content/uploads/CEG-Beyond-Lithium-pt1-Webinar-4-8-26-Slides.pdf

As the transition to renewable energy accelerates, longer-duration storage solutions are increasingly essential to provide reliability during extended peak demand periods, multi-day weather events, and seasonal variations—needs that are often uneconomical or technically challenging for lithium-ion battery systems to meet alone.

Clean Energy Group’s “Beyond Lithium” webinar series spotlights the emerging energy storage technologies that are expanding the grid’s capabilities beyond today’s lithium-ion batteries. Each session in the series will feature a leading non–lithium-ion storage company, offering a practical look at how their systems work, where they are being deployed, and how they compare on performance, cost, scalability, safety, and supply chain considerations. Participants will gain insight into the potential benefits, barriers, commercialization timelines, and policy frameworks shaping this evolving market.

This session will explore Hydrostor (https://hydrostor.ca), an advanced compressed air energy storage company that has projects currently in development across the United States, Canada, and Australia, including a 500 megawatt / 4,000 megawatt-hour system being deployed in Kern County, California. Hydrostor’s Senior Manager of Regulatory Affairs, Manuel Esquivel, will give an overview of their technology and answer questions from attendees. Clean Energy Group President and Executive Director Seth Mullendore will moderate.

Join us to better understand how diversifying storage technologies can strengthen grid resilience, advance energy affordability, and accelerate an equitable clean energy transition.

Channel: Clean Energy Group / Clean Energy States Alliance
Published: 2026-04-09
Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USlD9SwQFH4