University of Leeds - Stick the kettle on

The amount of energy needed to cope with peak demand for electricity could be halved by a new way of storing excess energy. Spikes in demand, such as those that occur during breaks in major televised sporting events when hundreds of thousands of people switch on the kettle to make a cup of tea, currently need to be met by turning on extra generating capacity. But researchers at the University of Leeds and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have found a way to use excess energy generated during off-peak times to produce liquid nitrogen, which can then be boiled to drive extra turbines during peak times.