Integration of Ultra-High Temperature Thermal Energy Storage into Conventional Generation Sites

The overarching aim of this project is to advance the knowledge of a low cost, long duration (beyond 4 hours) energy storage system to facilitate the integration of high penetrations of renewable generation into the energy system. Using the Ultra-High Temperature Thermal Storage system, this will allow for an increase in flexibility within conventional generation sites, permitting them to be a viable back-up for cleaner, renewable sources such as wind, solar and tidal. Furthermore, this system would have the potential to be charged solely from renewables, using energy supplied from these sources to heat the system to the required temperature would also be possible.

The outlined objectives of this research are to investigate the storage of energy at ultra-high temperatures and how to convert this thermal store back to usable energy. In this project, the following three goals will be achieved:

(1) Investigate the most suitable method for charging the thermal store directly from a generation unit.
(2) Determine technical requirements to integrate a UHTS system into a conventional generation site and the feasibility of matching fluctuations in required power output for a plant with a constant load.
(3) Consider the feasibility of producing hydrogen fuel from the stored energy for seasonal storage.