2017) Lowering the cost of largescale energy storage: high temperature adiabatic compressed air energy storage. Propulsion and Power Research, 6 (2). Abstract Compressed air energy storage is an energy storage technology with strong potential to play a significant role in balancing energy on transmission networks, owing to its use of mature technologies and low cost per unit of storage capacity. Adiabatic compressed air energy storage (A-CAES) systems typically compress air from ambient

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... ure in the charge phase and expand the air back to ambient temperature in the discharge phase. This papers explores the use of an innovative operating scheme for an A-CAES system aimed at lowering the total cost of the system for a given exergy storage capacity. The configuration proposed considers preheating of the air before compression which increases the fraction of the total exergy that is stored in the form of high-grade heat in comparison to existing designs in which the main exergy storage medium is the compressed air itself. Storing a high fraction of the total exergy as heat allows reducing the capacity of costly pressure stores in the system and replacing it with cheaper thermal energy stores. Additionally, a configuration that integrates a system based on the aforementioned concept with solar thermal power or low-medium grade waste heat is introduced and thoroughly discussed.