Energy storage for renewable energy

Sample of the element silicon
Credit: Theodore W Gray/periodictable.com

Some time ago, I wrote about the ideas of Professor Donald Sadoway on why storage is necessary to facilitate widespread use of renewable electricity, & how to do it.¹

● “Storage is necessary to make renewables base load.”
● “The problem is the very low price point needed to penetrate this market.”
● “If price is the problem, you have to invent to the price-point.”

● “Usually, chemists pursue the interesting chemistry & leave it to manufacturers to bring the price down by volume.”

● “Confine our chemistry to Earth-abundant elements, that’s how to make it cheap.” — e.g. aluminium (3rd most abundant element on Earth) not platinum

● “To make it dirt cheap, make it out of dirt — preferably local dirt.”
● “Earth-abundant elements & simple manufacturing.”

A team of researchers from Universidad Polytechnic de Madrid has in development, a thermal energy storage system which ticks all of the boxes, with, perhaps the exception of, “simple manufacturing”.

Silicon thermal energy storage is claimed to store more than 1 MWh per cubic metre – 10 times the energy density of existing thermal storage technology using molten salts of elements including potassium, calcium & sodium.

New Atlas: Abundant silicon at the heart of cheaper renewable energy storage system
http://newatlas.com/cheap-solar-energy-molten-silicon/45833/?li_source=LI&li_medium=default-widget
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¹ Hitchhiker’s Guide 2 Tech: “Innovation in stationary electricity storage (video)”, http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2015/01/innovation-in-stationary-electricity.html

² Fred Senese: “What is the most abundant element?”, http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/periodic/faq/what-element-is-most-abundant.shtml / energy storage abundant silicon cheaper renewable energy storage system Earth crust most abundant element silicon cheaper storage system renewable energy team of researchers Madrid developing thermal energy storage system molten silicon store up to 10 times more energy existing thermal storage options develop technology new generation low-cost solar thermal stations store solar energy urban centers storage current major challenge renewable energy sources wind solar viable alternatives drastic improvements store surplus energy draw energy night times sun isn't shining wind isn't blowing current battery technology develop development developed researchers industry exploring range new ideas improve energy storage commercialized solar thermal energy system stores concentrated heat Sun molten salts potassium calcium sodium nitrates converts heat electricity thermal generator salt-based systems work quite well require complex pumps pipelines heat transfer fluids generate electricity expensive vulnerable safety issues particularly abundant materials scale up plants elements researchers worldwide safer alternatives use cheaper more abundant materials silicon-based solution Universidad Polytechnic de Madrid UPM silicon world's cheapest most abundant elements proposed new thermal energy storage system heating silicon container concentrated sunlight surplus electricity generated renewable power molten silicon reach temperatures around 1,400° C 2,552° F isolated environment until energy is needed heat converted electricity silicon unique properties store more 1 MWh energy cubic meter ten times more energy density than salts key making new system work research leader Alejandro Datas thermophotovoltaic cells new technology solar panels generating electricity from heat light high temperatures silicon intensely shines same way that Sun does thermophotovoltaics convert incandescent radiation into electricity thermophotovoltaic cells conversion efficiencies over 50 percent can produce 100 times more electrical power per unit area than conventional solar cells key to the system can work at extreme temperatures ticks a lot of boxes abundant inexpensive materials store up to 10 times more energy existing solutions extremely compact quiet no moving parts researchers invention dramatically reduce cost storing producing energy thermal energy sector safe cost-effective answer renewable sector energy storage problems used for heating electricity UPM team commercialize commercialise system business project called SILSTORE started building a laboratory-scale prototype /