Evolving Energy Systems Through Innovations in Energy Storage

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Energy systems are evolving. Energy system flexibility is becoming increasingly important as grid architectures change and the penetration of intermittent renewable generators continue to grow. Storage has been identified as a critical component of such flexibility by helping to reconcile imbalances between supply and demand from both technical and market perspectives. Benefits of ES can include improved conditions for renewables integration, a reduction of fossil fuel peaker plants, improved power quality and reliability, deferral of system upgrade costs, and improved power maneuverability. For all of these benefits, successful commercialization of new ES technologies can be difficult. A few challenges face the broad commercial realization of many ES technologies. The first is a proper valuation of all the beneficial services storage can provide to stakeholders. This depends on the market for the services, but also, the ability of the storage asset to provide those services. Thus accuracy of storage value propositions is affected by specific market knowledge, but also the true details of asset performance.*** The applicant will advance state of the art exergoeconomic design optimization tools through the development of a more representative, transient operation model of a grid connected under water compressed air energy storage facility. The facility will be developed into a full scale Energy Storage Field Laboratory (ESFL). The improved exergoeconomic tools will be developed and validated with field operational data from the ESFL. The applicant will then apply the enhanced techniques to evolve a selection of less mature fluids based energy storage concepts. These include innovative inland and offshore variations of pumped hydro storage, and hybrid energy storage solutions that combine complementary ES technologies to custom tailor performance. The applicant will also investigate a new class of energy storage technology that blends generation and storage where energy is stored directly in a convenient form before converting to electricity. Subsequently, the cost of losses and extra equipment associated with multiple energy conversions can be mitigated.*** The overarching objective of the proposal is to evolve energy systems through innovations in energy storage technologies. To do this will require meaningful improvements in technology efficiency, flexibility, and cost. The planned advanced exergoeconomic approach and Energy Storage Field Laboratory will be developed to identify system strengths and weaknesses so they may be intelligently optimized by innovative design. The strategic application of these tools should improve designs, and will increase commercialization potential for the best solutions; evolving energy systems for the betterment of all stakeholders.**