Electricity-heat-electricity storage

Project description

With the expansion of renewable energies, there is a growing need to balance electricity supply and demand. This requires cost-effective and flexible storage solutions. Existing technologies such as batteries or pumped storage are often expensive or geographically limited in their application. Electricity-heat-electricity storage systems (Carnot batteries) based on proven technologies have the potential to close this gap and also enable the coupling of the electricity and heating sectors.

Carnot batteries store excess electricity as heat in a thermal storage unit and make it available again when needed. This project involves the construction of a pilot plant consisting of three flexible subsystems: a high-temperature heat pump for converting electricity and waste heat into high-temperature heat, a thermal storage unit, and a heat engine (organic Rankine cycle) for reconverting the heat into electricity. A particular advantage of this plant is that it also uses waste heat from an electrolyser. The high-temperature heat pump raises its temperature level, thereby increasing the overall efficiency of the system. The plant will be characterised metrologically to obtain reliable operating data under real conditions and to highlight the potential applications of this innovative storage technology.