Thermal Battery Development for Concentrated Solar Power Systems

December 7th, 2021

R&D Focus Areas:
Hydrides, Energy systems integration, Heat storage

Lead Organisation:
Curtin University

Partners:
ITP Thermal Pty Ltd, TEXEL

Status:
Completed

Start date:
June 2019

Completion date:
June 2024

Key contacts:
Project Leader: C.E. Buckley – c.buckley@curtin.edu.au
Other contact: M. Paskevicius – M.Paskevicius@curtin.edu.au

Funding:
AUD$1,000,000 – Global Innovation Linkages Program
AUD$400,000 – Curtin University
AUD$100,000 – TEXEL (Sweden)

Project total cost:
AUD$4,833,877

Project summary description:
This research project is expected to lead to the discovery of a working high temperature thermal energy storage system based on metal hydrides of metal carbonates that could operate at full-scale for industrial use in a CSP Dish-Stirling plant. The 2 major applications will be energy storage for standalone CSP Dish Stirling systems and large scale CSP Dish-Stirling Installations (100’s of MW). The initial market for the CSP Dish-Stirling systems is to target small off grid installations. In Australia this would be installation in the mining and minerals industry for power requirements up to 10 MW.

They key benefits of a CSP Dish Stirling with energy storage and gas hybrid are twofold: Cheap base-load electricity, planned to be below US$0.06/kWh (LCOE) per kWh, and scalable deployment size from standalone 33 kW dishes to multi MW utility scale installations.

The proposed technology has two major benefits in comparison with solar PV in combination with more traditional battery technologies (Li-Ion); cost and the ability to be powered by gas to guarantee operation during solar outage. PV and batteries has to be combined with for example diesel gen-sets to guarantee this.

Related publications and key links:

  • Mathew, N. Nadim, T.T. Chandratilleke, T.D. Humphries, M. Paskevicius, C.E. Buckley, Performance analysis of a high-temperature magnesium hydride reactor tank with a helical coil heat exchanger for thermal storage, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 46 (2021) 1 1038-1055, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.09.191.
  • Balakrishnan, M.V. Sofianos, M. Paskevicius, M.R. Rowles, C.E. Buckley, Destabilized Calcium Hydride as a Promising High-Temperature Thermal Battery, J. Phys. Chem. C, 124 (2020) 17512-17519, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c04754
  • Balakrishnan, M.V. Sofianos, T.D. Humphries, M. Paskevicius, C.E. Buckley, Thermochemical energy storage performance of zinc destabilized calcium hydride at high-temperatures, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 22 (2020) 25780-25788, https://doi.org/10.1039/d0cp04431h.
  • T. Møller, K. Williamson, C.E. Buckley, M. Paskevicius, Thermochemical energy storage properties of a barium based reactive carbonate composite, J. Mater. Chem. A, 8 (2020) 10935-10942, https://doi.org/10.1039/d0ta03671d.
  • T. Møller, A. Ibrahim, C. Buckley, M. Paskevicius, Inexpensive Thermochemical Energy Storage Utilising Additive Enhanced Limestone,
    J. Mater. Chem. A, 2020,8, 9646-9653. https://doi.org/10.1039/D0TA03080E
  • D. Humphries, J. Yang, R.A. Mole, M. Paskevicius, J.E. Bird, M.R. Rowles, M.S. Tortoza, M.V. Sofianos, D. Yu, C.E. Buckley, Fluorine Substitution in Magnesium Hydride as a Tool for Thermodynamic Control, J. Phys. Chem. C, 124 (2020) 9109-9117. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.9b11211
  • D. Humphries, A. Rawal, M.R. Rowles, C.R. Prause, J.E. Bird, M. Paskevicius, M.V. Sofianos, C.E. Buckley, Physicochemical Characterization of a Na–H–F Thermal Battery Material, J. Phys. Chem. C, 124 (2020) 5053-5060. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.9b10934
  • E. Bird, T.D. Humphries, M. Paskevicius, L. Poupin, C.E. Buckley, Thermal properties of thermochemical heat storage materials, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 22 (2020) 4617-4625. https://doi.org/10.1039/C9CP05940G
  • P. Vieira, K. Williamson, T.D. Humphries, M. Paskevicius, C.E. Buckley, A new strontium based reactive carbonate composite for thermochemical energy storage, J. Mater. Chem. A, 9 (2021) 20585-20594. https://doi.org/10.1039/D1TA04363C
  • Poupin, T.D. Humphries, M. Paskevicius, C.E. Buckley, An operational high temperature thermal energy storage system using magnesium iron hydride, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 46 (2021) 38755-38767, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2021.09.146.
  • Mathew, N. Nadim, T.T. Chandratilleke, T.D. Humphries, C.E. Buckley, Investigation of boiling heat transfer for improved performance of metal hydride thermal energy storage, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, (2021), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2021.06.059.
  • T. Møller, T.D. Humphries, A. Berger, M. Paskevicius, C.E. Buckley, Thermochemical energy storage system development utilising limestone, Chemical Engineering Journal Advances, 8 (2021) 100168, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceja.2021.100168.
  • D. Humphries, M. Paskevicius, A. Alamri, C.E. Buckley, Thermodynamic destablization of SrH2 using Al for the next generation of high temperature thermal batteries, J. Alloys Compd., 894 (2022) 162404, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2021.162404.
  • T. Møller, A. Berger, M. Paskevicius, C.E. Buckley, Synergetic effect of multicomponent additives on limestone when assessed as a thermochemical energy storage material, J. Alloys and Compd, 2022, 891, 161954. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2021.161954

 Higher degree studies supported:
Two Ph.D. students at Curtin University.

 

Reviewed: August 2024