本集内容
Why are we storing liquid air?
我们为什么要储存液态空气？
文字稿
The world’s largest commercial plant to store liquid air is expected to open next year.
世界上最大的商业液态空气存储设施预计将于明年启用。
That’s right – liquid air.
没错，“液态空气”。
But how, and why?
这是怎么做到的，又是为什么呢？
The use of renewable energy has soared globally, but there’s a problem.
可再生能源在全球范围内的使用量正在激增，但可再生能源面临一个问题。
It isn’t always sunny, or windy. So we need to store this energy.
天气并不总是晴朗或刮风。所以我们需要储存这些能量。
Our current options have limitations – hydropower can be used to store surplus energy, but only in certain locations.
我们当下的选择都有其局限性——水力发电可以用于存储剩余的能源，但只有少数地区有这类设施。
And lithium batteries only last ten years.
而锂电池的寿命只有十年。
Enter liquid air.
于是液态空气登场了。
It uses power from the grid to take air from the surroundings and clean it.
这项技术使用来自电网的电力从周围环境中获取并净化空气。
Then, the air is compressed repeatedly and then cooled until it becomes liquid.
然后，空气被反复地压缩再冷却，直到它变为液体。
When energy is needed, it’s evaporated back into a gas and used to drive turbines, generating electricity.
当需要能量的时候，液态空气会被蒸发变回气体，并被用于驱动涡轮机，从而发电。
The world’s largest commercial storage facility is set to power up in England next year.
世界上最大的液态空气商业储能设施将于明年在英格兰投入使用。
More work is needed to make the method economically viable.
人们还需要完成更多的工作才能让这个技术手段在经济上切实可行。
But experts are optimistic it could help us in our fight to harness renewable energy.
但专家对此持乐观态度，认为这项技术可以对我们挑战利用可再生能源有所帮助。
重点词汇及表达
commercial 商业的
renewable energy 可再生能源
soar 激增
grid 输电网
power up 启动，运行