Thermal Energy Storage to Provide Dispatchable Low-carbon Process Heating

Thermal energy storage (TES) is a low-cost, long-lived technology which can be used to provide dispatchable energy on demand. The system can be charged thermally or electrically where the energy is stored thermally in specially chosen storage media. The stored thermal energy can be held at temperature for several hours or days before being discharged to the process or application. When charged by renewable technologies (e.g., solar PV, wind, concentrated solar power) or waste heat the system can be considered low carbon while the system can also be connected to a power block to provide energy in the form of electricity.

Background

The proposed solution is a TES system which can utilize waste heat or excess (ideally renewable) electricity and store the contained energy in a low-cost storage media. The system can be charged using waste heat passed through the system or through electrical heating where this energy can then be stored for use as required (generally a few days but can be longer if necessary). When the energy is required, it is retrieved by way of a heat transfer fluid (HTF) which can then be used directly in a process or deliver contained energy to another fluid by way of heat exchange. For applications requiring power generation, the discharged thermal energy can be converted to electrical energy by way of a steam-, air-, or supercritical carbon dioxide power block. Additionally, storage materials are chosen so that they are non-toxic, abundant, low-cost, have low environmental impact, well suited to high temperatures, and are capable of large numbers of thermal cycles (e.g., natural materials, ceramic or ceramic-like materials, molten salts, etc.).

Solution

The main value of the system is the storage of energy thermally in a low-cost media which is significantly cheaper than traditional storage. When required the stored energy can be retrieved and used directly and/or converted to electricity. The storage media is selected to minimize system costs, size, and environmental impact and is suitable for longer duration storage. The storage material does not degrade with charging and discharging and can be recycled or easily disposed at the end of system life (> 25 years). The system is designed in such a way that it is suited to high temperatures (up to 700 °C) and thermal cycling, leading to a long lifetime, while the system is also modular, allowing process or site expansion as required. The technology is best suited for air-based applications with a heat requirement from 150-250 °C, although higher temperature applications are possible or other fluids usable. Furthermore, in coupling with a power block, the discharged thermal energy can be converted to electricity. Longer term work will aim to develop novel storage materials which will increase system efficiency, increase storage density, and reduce system cost.

Anfragen zu diesem Technologieangebot

Bitte wenden Sie sich bei inhaltlichen Fragen an die Erfinder:innen. Lizenz- und Verwertungsanfragen können an den zuständigen Innovationsmanager gerichtet werden.

Weitere Technologien

Technology Offer TA 20221

Thermal Energy Storage to Provide Dispatchable Low-carbon Process Heating

Vereinbaren Sie einen Austausch mit uns

Nutzen Sie den einfachen und schnellen Kontakt zum Innovation Management bei Fragen und Anliegen rund um Innovation und Transfer am Forschungszentrum Jülich.

Kontakt zum Innovation Management aufnehmen