The Canadian-based company Hydrostor has chosen Denver as its U.S. headquarters. The company is building an energy-storage plant in California and plans more in the U.S. and Australia as a ways to store excess power from renewable energy sources so that it can be used when it is needed.The Toronto-based business announced the decision Wednesday. Tom Duckett, Hydrostor’s chief development officer, said the company plans to hire 20 more people this year, boosting the Denver staff to about 30.
However, unlike some models, Hydrostor’s proprietary technology doesn’t use fossil fuels in the process, Duckett said. The company said its method, which involves pumping water to store compressed air underground and water pressure to release it, doesn’t create emissions. Hydrostor uses electricity from renewable sources to power compressors at a plant, producing heated compressed air that is stored above ground. A video on the company’s website shows how cooled compressed air is then pushed underground into a water-filled rock cavern. The air displaces the water, which is lifted to a reservoir on the surface.