Liquid Air Storage Technology

Hadi Alyami Energy Systems Engineering,

BEng, MSc alyami@ualberta.ca

hadia1@tvtc.gov.sa (Cheapest route to 24-hour wind and solar)

Question

Can we make use of a freely available resource that is Air?

Power Supply/Demand

The EIA latest International Energy Outlook 2018 (IEO2018) projects that world energy consumption will grow by 28% between 2015 and 2040.

[1]

Solutions

Smart grid in the

form of more

integration of

renewable energies

resources.

[3]

Challenges

Renewable Energies

Intermittency

Public policy Energy density

“Wrong-time” supply

Wind is not blowing

Sun is not shining

Power Supply/Demand

Challenges

Can introduce large scale/volume energy storage mediums to current electric grids in GCC states (in the world) tackle

the challenges?

What is Power Storage?

Energy can be neither produced nor destroyed, but can be converted from forms that are difficult to store (electricity, kinetic energy, etc.) to

more conveniently or economically storable forms (chemical energy, thermal energy, etc.)

∆𝐸𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙= ∆𝐸𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 + ∆𝐸𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠= 0

Most Installed Power Storage Technology

Pumped-hydroelectric Storage (PHS)

• Long lifetime. • Practically unlimited cycle stability. • Able to ramp up to full power recovery very

rapidly.

• Geographical conditions and land use. • Sites often located at significant distances

from demand centres. • Capital intensive

[5]

How To Choose?

It is well accepted that there is NO single energy storage technology that can be developed as a generic technology solution.

Energy Storage

Power Density

Geographic Constrains

Cost

Maturity

Liquid Air Energy Storage Technology

LAES Technology makes use of a freely available resource – air – which is cooled

(liquefied) and stored as a liquid and then re-gasified back which drives

turbines to produce electricity.

Air consists of nitrogen (78%)

Liquefaction of

ambient air of

liquid air

Re-gasification of

ambient air of

liquid air

LAES Storage Cycle

[6]

LAES Storage Cycle

• Immediacy: mature enough for rapid deployment.

• Location flexibility: Air is there then good to go.

• Scalability: Almost there is no limit (Cost).

• Abundance: Not only the components in the technology are sufficiently available, but the “fuel” is as well—air.

• Environmental sensitivity: Almost zero emissions technology.

• Capacity: With energy demand increasing around the world, it is critical that energy storage technologies have the capacity to accommodate consumer needs. LAES can.

LAES technology have been designed around several factors that are very important for grid-scale energy storage capabilities:

Utilisation

Storing at off-peak periods for release at on-peak.

Fluctuations

Peak

demand

Off-Peak

demand

Shift

Shift

One-day renewable power generation

Power leveling allows for higher plant efficiency.

Concluded Remarks

• As wind, solar and other renewables contribute more and more energy demands, the capacity to store that energy for future use becomes more pressing.

• Energy storage is a key to the use of renewable energy and dealing with peak demand as well as improving energy efficiency.

• Current available energy storage technologies are at different stages of

development and differ greatly in terms of scales, power density, energy density, capital & running costs, efficiencies, geological requirements and environmental impact

• LAES technology seems the most promising energy storage technique for GCC

states, where natural resources are scarce.

References

[1] Alberta Innovates Technology Future “Energy Storage making Intermittent Power Dispatchable” Final Report, Vesion1.1; October 2011.

[2] Highview Power Storage: Technology and Performance Review, England; March 2012.

[3] Paul W. Parfomak “Energy Storage for Power Grids and Electric Transportation: A Technology Assessment” Congressional Research Service; 2012.

[4] B. Rehfeldt, C. Stiller “Process Engineering and Thermodynamic Evaluation of Concepts for Liquid Air Energy Storage: Liquid Air Energy Storage: A flexible and widely applicable medium-term large-scale energy storage” Hitachi Power Europe GmbH, Germany; 2012.

[5] D. Strahan et al. “Liquid Air Technologies – a guide to the potential” Conference Report; Centre for Low Carbon Futures and Liquid Air Energy Network, ISBN: 978-0-9927328-0-6; October 2013.

[6] R. Morgan, S. Nelmes, E. Gibson, G. Brett “Liquid air energy storage – Analysis and first results from a pilot scale demonstration plant” ScienceDirect, Applied Thermal Engineering: 2014.

[7] Y. Li, H. Chen, X. Zhang, C. Tan, Y. Ding “Renewable energy carriers: Hydrogen or liquid air/nitrogen?” ScienceDirect, Applied Thermal Engineering 30 (2010) 1985-1990.

[8] H. Chen, T. Ngoc Cong, W. Yang, C. Tan, Y. Li, Y. Ding “Progress in electrical energy storage system: A critical review” Progress in Natural Science 19 (2009) 291–312: ScienceDirect; April 2008. Sean Davies “Grid Gets The Smarts” Power Smart Grid, Engineering and Technology Magazine; May 2012, P. 42-45.

[9] Bob Yirka “Energy companies testing "liquid air" as a means of storing backup electricity” PHYS. Org; 22 May 2013.

[10] E. Heureux Zara “Cryogenic Energy Storage and Residential Demand Response” PhD Candidate, Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia university; 2014.

[11] C. Ordonez, M. Plummer, “Cold Thermal Storage and Cryogenic Heat Engines for Energy Storage Applications,” Energy Sources, 19:389-396, 1997.

[12] M. Akhurst, L. Aworks et al. “Liquid Air in the energy and transport systems” The Centre for Low Carbon Futures; ISBN: 978-0-9575872-2-9; May 2013.