Cheesecake Energy

Cheesecake Energy is a UK-based company that develops advanced thermal and compressed air energy storage systems to support the intermittent nature of renewable energy. The company’s eTanker energy storage system is a medium- to long-duration energy storage solution that stores energy in the form of heat and pressurized air. The company claims that its solution is 30%–40% cheaper than other batteries available in the market.

The system uses electricity to charge the system by powering an electric motor to drive an air compressor, which creates high-pressure air and heat. This high-temperature heat is then stored separately in a thermal store while the high-pressure compressed air is held in an air tank. The battery is then discharged by running the process in reverse. The heat in the thermal store reheats the high-pressure air, which expands through the expanders and drives a generator at a constant speed to create AC electricity. The eTanker system can supply full power for up to 20 hours and has a lifespan of up to 25 years.

The system is made by repurposing hardware from the automotive and compressed natural gas industries.

Funding and financials

In April 2023, Cheesecake Energy was awarded GBP 9.4 million (~USD 11.9 million) from the UK Government’s Department of Energy Security and Net Zero to install a set of energy storage systems in Colchester. Prior to this in August 2022, the company raised GBP 3.5 million (~USD 4.4 million) in a Series A round led by BGF. The company planned to use the funds to begin pilot deployments of its energy storage technology.