The world’s largest demonstration plant for a new kind of renewable energy storage is up and running in the west of the China. Called liquid-air energy storage (LAES) the plant uses renewable electricity to compress air to extreme densities until it turns to liquid. It can then be rapidly released to power a turbine and discharge that green energy back into the grid.
Appears as if I was not off that much. 60% fuel cell efficiency, 38% cycle efficiency.
I think you got it a bit backwards. The point of storage is just that: storage. Using something that does not store energy but release energy from carbon sources is not storage. That is energy “production”. Energy storage is a highly researched subject because there is an upcoming large demand for it, both in a scale of 24h, mid-term and also seasonal. This arises from wind and solar power delivering power in a fluctuating extend.
Renewable energies (which energy storage is a part of) is way more isolated from far off sourced oil and gas. There is a reason why Europe is massively investing in renewables, it is a strategic imperative to do so. Storage technologies are a key technological component to got from 50% to close to 100% renewable energy and insulating the energy base from exactly that world market on old dirty energy. That renewable energy is leading to an explosion in energy prices is not really supported by reality, is it? After all, gas is pushing electricity prices up right now, not wind or solar power.