Highview Power BLU CRYOBattery.

An interactive model for a new energy-storage plant

I first came across Highview Power through the BBC’s November 2020 article, “UK energy plant to use liquid air”. I recognised an opportunity for our simulation work and prompted TSC’s marketing team to make a cold approach. Highview responded, and that outreach led to the digital-twin project.

Highview Power commissioned TSC Simulation to develop a digital twin for its proposed Carrington CRYOBattery facility. The project brought together a virtual plant walkaround, mathematical simulation and control-system emulation to support engineering verification, training and demonstrations to prospective investors.

The liquid-air energy-storage process uses electricity to liquefy air, stores it at cryogenic temperatures, and later expands it through turbines to generate power. The original Carrington scheme also included a Stability Island: generator-and-flywheel machinery intended to provide rapid grid-stabilisation services ahead of the wider storage installation.

From fragmented CAD to a navigable plant

As 3D Development Manager, I oversaw the build of the plant model from multiple, incomplete CAD datasets. I provided engineering knowledge and support to help the 3D artists reconcile those sources and model missing plant elements, bringing the geometry together into a single, usable virtual plant.

I reviewed the technical documentation and worked with the simulation team to keep the two representations aligned. Where possible, developments in the engineering simulation were reflected in the 3D model so that the visual environment remained consistent with the systems it represented.

I also worked directly in Unity, importing models, writing and maintaining Editor scripts, preparing collision geometry and integrating the scene. Hierarchical filtering and saved visibility views helped users isolate equipment or plant sections, while first- and third-person walking and flying modes made the facility easier to explore at different scales.

The model represented an evolving proposed design. Its purpose was to help people understand and interact with the facility during development.

Connecting 3D, simulation and controls

The system combined three layers: the 3D virtual plant for navigation and interaction; dynamic process and electrical simulation, with our simulated scope focused on the Stability Island; and industrial control integration through the Optimal-supplied BLU controller / Siemens PCS 7 demonstration arrangement.

Linking these layers brought the engineering behaviour and the visual environment into the same demonstration. It allowed stakeholders to explore the proposed plant alongside the simulation and control-system workflow.

I worked on site at Highview Power’s London offices to install the application, troubleshoot integration issues and help bring the linked 3D, simulation and controls setup into operation. This was integration of the demonstration system for the proposed facility.

My contribution

My involvement began with scoping the 3D software requirements alongside the customer and contributing to the proposal. During delivery, I connected the customer’s requirements with the work of the 3D artists and simulation engineers, combining technical review and engineering support with hands-on Unity development.

I coordinated and reviewed the modelling effort, helped maintain alignment between the simulation and visual model, and served as one of the main contacts for the client and automation partner. I also visited Carrington to understand the site context.

The project was delivered by TSC Simulation for Highview Power, working with Optimal Industrial Automation on the controls integration. My contribution was to help turn incomplete engineering geometry into an accessible virtual plant and carry that work through to a functioning integrated installation in London.

Project dates

The project began around June 2021 and was completed and delivered at the end of July 2022.