The technology, developed by Highview Power, has already generated interest from the US and this week the Japanese industrial machinery giant Sumitomo Heavy Industries announced a $46m investment in Highview.

Highview Power and Sumitomo said the investment will be used to “accelerate growth and deployment” of the technology around the world.

Professor Morgan said: “This is exciting news, not just for the university but for society as a whole. This is extremely green technology which produces clean, affordable and grid-scale energy storage for balancing renewable power.”

Highview Power’s and the UK’s first full-scale ‘CRYOBattery™’ is being planned in the north of England. Once built, the plant is expected to supply enough storage to power 50,000 homes.

Professor Morgan said the CRYOBattery™ tank can store liquified air, chilled to -196C, and be fuelled by renewable energy. He explained: “Wind and solar farms sometimes produce excess energy, for instance, at night or during hot weather. Storing it as liquid air means it can be heated and turned back into a gas to drive turbines which generate electricity when demand increases.”

“In addition, this technology avoids the use of fossil fuels and is emission-free.

“The north of England plant will be the first of its kind in Europe and I believe this technology can go a long way to helping tackle the UK’s and, indeed, the world’s energy shortage – we could be talking about a £1bn industry in the future with 20,000 jobs in the UK alone, further commented Professor Morgan.”

London-based Highview Power, where Professor Morgan worked as Chief Technical Officer from 2009 to 2011, and the University of Brighton have worked together through three consultancies, a Knowledge Transfer Partnership, and a project backed by Innovate UK.

Three university Early Career Researchers, Senior Lecturer Dr Angad Panesar, Principal Lecturer Dr Konstantina Vogiatzaki, and Research Fellow Dr Emily Pike-Wilson, have also been involved in this cooperation with Highview Power, developing their technology.

Professor Morgan, one of the project’s leading researchers, said: “We also have two of our PhD graduates working with Highview Power and our collaboration will continue.”

He added: “Given the technical leadership the UK has in liquid air storage, there is good potential for building a significant export industry.”

Professor Morgan has been working on another ‘cryo’ project, the development of a super-clean engine for vehicle, marine and power generation.