A Proposed Study of Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) with Fossil Generation
Executive Summary Title: A Proposed Study of Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) with Fossil Energy Generation Purpose. This study explores potential synergies between an emerging, long duration energy storage technology (LAES) integrated with conventional coal-fired power plant technology. LAES can store heat produced by the power plant during off-peak and hours where market prices are below marginal costs, and then co-dispatch with the prime mover during advantageous pricing periods, while recovering the stored heat to increase the total system electrical output. Research Goals/Tasks: The primary goal for the Phase I study was to develop a high-level assessment of a (non-optimized) integration of the LAES system with a particular coal-fired power plant. The secondary goal of the first phase of the study was to develop a thermodynamic model of a (non-optimized) stand-alone LAES system using the DOE’s IDAES PSE software system. Results – Stand-Alone LAES: A process flow diagram of a standalone (internal heat/cold storage, no integration) LAES system was developed. Arbitrary capacities for the three major LAES modules (Charging, Storage, and Discharge) were established for computational purposes. The thermal cycle representing the standalone LAES system was modeled using ProMax software. The ProMax model computed a Round Trip Efficiency (“RTE”) for the standalone LAES cycle of 44.8%. The ProMax model was then translated to IDAES software. The process involved training, programming, and debugging. The computational results of the IDAES model were validated by comparing results to the benchmark ProMax model. The final IDEAS model also computed an RTE for the standalone LAES cycle of 44.8%. Results – LAES + Coal Integration: A “Reference” coal fired power plant was identified with known design performance and market pricing data. This data was used to illustrate the impacts of integrating the operation of the coal fired power plant with an LAES system. A high-level economic assessment of potential integration options was facilitated by modification of the base case standalone LAES ProMax model. The integration option (Integration Option 1) that showed the most promise involved the storage of high-grade heat produced by the power plant boiler during off cost hours, and recovery of the stored heat to boost LAES expander output during high-priced hours. The ProMax and IDAES models showed that the RTE of the LAES system could be improved to at least 65% and the profitability of the integrated system could be improved over the stand-alone coal fired power plant. Integration Options that showed a low potential for profitable synergistic integration included: the use the power plant condenser outlet cooling water to superheat pressurized air in the LAES Discharge module (Option 2); utilization of cold energy stored in the LAES plant Internal Recovered Cold Storage tank to cool power plant condenser inlet cooling water to a lower temperature than can be achieved by the cooling tower (Option 3); and use of the power plant stack gases to superheat the pressurized air entering the Expander-Generator stages in the LAES Discharge module (Option 4). Applications: The models developed for stand-alone LAES and LAES integrated with a coal power plant have a number of applications in Phase II or in other proposals, including (1) research to optimize LAES and LAES integration with coal along a number of dimensions (charge/discharge period, coal plant size, differing thermal storage and liquefier configurations); (2) developing more generalized IDAES modules for energy storage and energy storage plus fossil fuel integration; (3) modeling LAES integration with other types of fossil or renewable generation (e.g., natural gas or solar thermal) or industrial processes; and (4) developing a detailed conceptual design for a proposed LAES plus coal generation pilot, e.g., in cooperation with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
- Research Organization:
- Aerem Nova Energy Storage Inc.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Engineering & Technology. Office of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs
- Contributing Organization:
- National Energy Technology Laboratory
- DOE Contract Number:
- SC0020920
- OSTI ID:
- 1763886
- Type / Phase:
- SBIR (Phase I)
- Report Number(s):
- DOE-AEREMNOVA-20920-1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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