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Despite the continuing decline in solar and wind energy costs, renewable energy continues to address the problem of storing solar and wind energy when the sun does not shine and the wind does not shine. do not blast.
Lithium batteries store the sun's energy to provide it when needed, even if the sun does not shine. But what would happen if there was a solar energy system coupled with a thermal battery capable of producing electricity at night by feeding a turbine with stored heat?
Researchers at Australian University Curtin are developing a prototype thermal battery capable of producing electricity in one night. This innovative approach to thermal battery development could provide a viable source of energy 24/7 for energy-intensive industries, including mining, potentially competing with coal, oil or natural gas, said Curtin University in a statement the week.
University researchers are collaborating with renewable energy companies United Sun Systems and ITP Thermal on this project. The prototype thermal battery was part of the Solar Concentration Energy System (CSP) developed by United Sun Systems, which requires a battery to store and release energy to generate solar energy continuously, said Professor Craig Buckley of Curtin's Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Mathematics, who is leading the project.
"The battery uses high temperature metal hydride or metal carbonate as a means of storing heat and a low temperature gas storage tank to store hydrogen or carbon dioxide," says the professor. Buckley.
"At night, and in cloudy weather, hydrogen or carbon dioxide is released from the gas reservoir and absorbed by the metal at elevated temperatures to form a metal hydride / metal carbonate, which produces the heat used to produce electricity, "Buckley said. .
Researchers at Curtin University aim to develop a new technology to integrate thermochemical energy storage into a parabolic system via a thermal battery.
According to scientists at Curtin University, this system could provide power up to 46 kW and would be ideal for powering remote heavy industries such as mining sites, as it could provide energy on demand.
The research project aimed to develop a solar energy system capable of generating electricity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and viable for industrial operations, according to the professor, deputy vice chancellor of the Curtin University, Chris Moran.
"While a lithium battery stores electrical energy that can be used to produce electricity when the sun does not shine, this thermal battery stores the heat produced by the concentrated solar thermal, which can be used when the sun does not shine to run a turbine, says Professor Moran.
"As with the lithium battery systems that Curtin is also developing, the deployment of a cost-effective energy storage system using thermal batteries will revolutionize the global landscape of renewable energy production by enabling renewable energies to truly compete with fossil fuels, "said Professor Moran. it's noted.
Renewable energies are already competing with fossil fuels in some regions, according to BloombergNEF's New Energy Outlook 2019. Wind and solar power are now the least expensive in more than two-thirds of the planet and are expected to reduce coal and gas emissions put into service almost everywhere by 2030, BNEF said in its outlook for the month latest. Wind and solar power are expected to account for nearly 50% of the global energy mix by 2050, according to the BNEF.
Time will tell if the 24-hour solar power system, developed by Australian researchers, could be a game-changer for renewable energy and a threat to fossil fuels in heavy industries.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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