3 ms·
The concept seems to be similar to the "Gridscale Storage"[0] system sold by Stiesdal technologies[0], which claims a round-trip efficiency of 55-60%. The impo
by japanuspus 4y ago
The concept seems to be similar to the "Gridscale Storage"[0] system sold by Stiesdal technologies[0], which claims a round-trip efficiency of 55-60%.
The important insight here is that per Carnot's law[1], the higher the storage temperature the higher the theoretical max efficiency for thermal storage. Stiesdal had an initial concept that stored at even higher temperatures (1000C) and used a standard power plant steam turbine for converting back to electricity. But these turn-key solutions are probably more realistic.
If you are interested in realistic renewable energy, do browse the Stiesdal pages: Henrik Stiesdal [2] was pretty much the inventor of the modern wind turbine (sold the upwind 3-blade design to Vestas, CTO at Siemens Wind Power): He seems to have a superb intuition for industrializing heavy machinery. I am keenly following his advances into electrolysis and floating offshore wind power.
[0]: https://www.stiesdal.com/storage/the-gridscale-technology-explained/ https://www.stiesdal.com/storage/the-gridscale-technology-ex...
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnot_cycle#Carnot's_theorem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnot_cycle#Carnot's_theorem
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrik_Stiesdal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrik_Stiesdal