Energy Storage Technology for Decentralised Energy Management: Future Prospects

The chapter provides a comparison of energy storage technologies in decentralised energy systems for energy management. The various costs, advantages and disadvantages of the storage technologies will be considered. System dynamics modelling will be used to analyse energy management within the decentralised renewable and storage systems. Additionally, the integration of hydrogen storage technology and the use of hydrogen as an energy carrier in a decentralised airport scenario will be highlighted and the arising advantages of a decentralised airport using novel electric planes powered by hydrogen are discussed

Frequency-dependent demagnetisation rate of a shielded HTS tape stack

Abstract This work presents results of investigation of crossed-field demagnetization in 2G high temperature superconducting stacks at temperatures in the range of 77 - 20 K and in a variable frequency, corresponding to the particular rotor application. We propose a method to reduce the demagnetization rate for a given stack configuration necessary for the superconducting rotor operating at a cryogenic temperature. This technique involves 3-D wrapping the stack of tapes with perpendicular layers of similar superconducting properties. Previous ‘proof of concept’ studies documented some improvements in flux demagnetisation reduction for basic configuration. In the present study a more advanced approach based on magnetic flux shielding is adopted. The presented results provide an important contribution to development for design solutions that aim to increase the operational time before remagnetisation of the stacks would be required.</jats:p

Heat extraction from HTS tape stacks applied in a superconducting motor in different cooling conditions

Abstract The heat is generated inside the stack of superconducting tapes mounted on the surface of the electrical machine rotor during its operation and magnetization. Cooling of such stack presents challenges because of the layered structure of both tape, and stack. Moreover, the tapes should be electrically isolated to minimize the AC losses, that assumes gluing them, rather than soldering. The calculations consider a conductive heat dissipation also through the rotor iron. Results show that: liquid nitrogen provides an effective cooling; the temperature of the stack shows complex distribution patterns with the gaseous coolant. Additional preventive measures were analyzed to keep the stack operational in vacuum conditions.</jats:p

A methodology for techno-economic evaluation of asymmetric energy storage systems: A nuclear energy case study

This paper discusses a novel methodology for the analysis of energy storage system. This methodology combines engineering and economic modelling to assess the relative economic performance of plant designs within a simulated UK electricity market. It presents a case study that explores whether a nuclear power plant can be combined with a liquid air energy storage plant to allow the resultant hybrid plant to provide a load-following electricity supply. The approach adopted is distinct from much of the work on conventional load following nuclear power plant operations, as in our case the underlying nuclear energy production does not vary. The methodology expands the previous literature by performing market-led system optimisation to best design the output profile of the hybrid plant to improve economic performance in the UK electricity grid. Whilst this combined modelling approach has been demonstrated in the context of a specific plant design, this methodology might be applied to any asymmetric energy storage system to assess its economic viability. This work is both contrasting and complementary to the levelized cost of storage approach. Rather than providing the price at which energy must be sold to make a storage system economically viable, this approach considers how volatile the electricity spot market would have to become to make such a system profitable. The ability to explore different market conditions is a major omission from the existing literature on energy storage systems

Cross-field demagnetization of stacks of tapes: 3D modelling and measurements

Stacks of superconducting (SC) tapes can trap much higher magnetic fields than conventional magnets. This makes them very promising for motors and generators. However, ripple magnetic fields in these machines present a cross-field component that demagnetizes the stacks. At present, there is no quantitative agreement between measurements and modeling of cross-field demagnetization, mainly due to the need for a 3D model that takes the end effects and real micron-thick SC layer into account. This article presents 3D modeling and measurements of cross-field demagnetization in stacks of up to 5 tapes and initial magnetization modeling of stacks of up to 15 tapes. 3D modeling of the cross-field demagnetization explicitly shows that the critical current density, J$_{c}$, in the direction perpendicular to the tape surface does not play a role in cross-field demagnetization. When taking the measured anisotropic magnetic field dependence of J$_{c}$ into account, 3D calculations agree with measurements with less than a 4% deviation, while the error of 2D modeling is much higher. Then, our 3D numerical methods can realistically predict cross-field demagnetization. Due to the force-free configuration of part of the current density, J, in the stack, better agreement with experiments will probably require measuring the J$_{c}$ anisotropy for the whole solid angle range, including J parallel to the magnetic field

Distribution of Trapped Magnetic Flux in Superconducting Stacks Magnetised by Angled Field

Abstract: Some novel energy applications require the use of complex shapes of stacks of superconducting tapes as trapped-flux magnets. A trapped-flux magnet magnetised in a superconducting motor may experience an angled magnetising field rather than a field normal to its surface. This will affect the trapped magnetic flux distribution. This work presents the results of the numerical and experimental analyses of the stacks magnetised in an angled magnetic field. The finite element model using H-formulation is developed to compute the induced superconducting currents. The measurements are performed on stacks with different thicknesses and with different orientations against a magnetising field. The resulting distribution of the magnetic flux as well as the electric currents is computed, presented and discussed in details. The importance of the observed distribution patterns is assessed in the context of the implementation of such stacks in a fully superconducting electric motor

Inkjet Printing Infiltration of the Doped Ceria Interlayer in Commercial Anode-Supported SOFCs.

Single-step inkjet printing infiltration with doped ceria Ce0.9Ye0.1O1.95 (YDC) and cobalt oxide (CoxOy) precursor inks was performed in order to modify the properties of the doped ceria interlayer in commercial (50 × 50 × 0.5 mm3 size) anode-supported SOFCs. The penetration of the inks throughout the La0.8Sr0.2Co0.5Fe0.5O3-δ porous cathode to the Gd0.1Ce0.9O2 (GDC) interlayer was achieved by optimisation of the inks' rheology jetting parameters. The low-temperature calcination (750 °C) resulted in densification of the Gd-doped ceria porous interlayer as well as decoration of the cathode scaffold with nanoparticles (~20-50 nm in size). The I-V testing in pure hydrogen showed a maximum power density gain of ~20% at 700 °C and ~97% at 800 °C for the infiltrated cells. The latter effect was largely assigned to the improvement in the interfacial Ohmic resistance due to the densification of the interlayer. The EIS study of the polarisation losses of the reference and infiltrated cells revealed a reduction in the activation polarisations losses at 700 °C due to the nano-decoration of the La0.8Sr0.2Co0.5Fe0.5O3-δ scaffold surface. Such was not the case at 800 °C, where the drop in Ohmic losses was dominant. This work demonstrated that single-step inkjet printing infiltration, a non-disruptive, low-cost technique, can produce significant and scalable performance enhancements in commercial anode-supported SOFCs

Experimental characterization and elementary reaction modeling of solid oxide electrolyte direct carbon fuel cell

A detailed mechanistic model for solid oxide electrolyte direct carbon fuel cell (SO-DCFC) is developed while considering the thermo-chemical and electrochemical elementary reactions in both the carbon bed and the SOFC, as well as the meso-scale transport processes within the carbon bed and the SOFC electrode porous structures. The model is validated using data from a fixed bed carbon gasification experiment and the SO-DCFC performance testing experiments carried out using different carrier gases and at various temperatures. The analyzes of the experimental and modeling results indicate the strong influence of the carrier gas on the cell performance. The coupling between carbon gasification and electrochemical oxidation on the SO-DCFC performance that results in an unusual transition zone in the cell polarization curve was predicted by the model, and analyzed in detail at the elementary reaction level. We conclude that the carbon bed physical properties such as the bed height, char conversion ratio and fuel utilization, as well as the temperature significantly limit the performance of the SO-DCFC.National Natural Science Foundation (China) (20776078)National Natural Science Foundation (China) (51106085)Low Carbon Energy University Alliance (LCEUA) (Seed Funding

Alignment of Carbon Nanotube Additives for Improved Performance of Magnesium Diboride Superconductors

The rapid progress on MgB2 superconductor since its discovery[1] has made this material a strong competitor to low and high temperature superconductors (HTS) for applications with a great potential to catch the niche market such as in magnetic resonant imaging (MRI). Thanks to the lack of weak links and the two-gap superconductivity of MgB2 [2,3] a number of additives have been successfully used to enhance the critical current density, Jc and the upper critical field, Hc2.[4-12] Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have unusually electrical, mechanical and thermal properties[13-16] and hence is an ideal component to fabricate composites for improving their performance. To take advantages of the extraordinary properties of CNTs it is important to align CNTs in the composites. Here we report a method of alignment of CNTs in the CNT/MgB2 superconductor composite wires through a readily scalable drawing technique. The aligned CNT doped MgB2 wires show an enhancement in magnetic Jc(H) by more than an order of magnitude in high magnetic fields, compared to the undoped ones. The CNTs have also significantly enhanced the heat transfer and dissipation. CNTs have been used mainly in structural materials, but here the advantage of their use in functional composites is shown and this has wider ramifications for other functional materials.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures. to be published in Advanced Material

Electromagnetically assisted densification of copper-sheathed in situ MgB2/Cu wires

peer-reviewedThis paper summarizes recent methods of improving critical current density of in situ Cu-sheathed MgB2 wires. These methods include using optimum heat treatment schedule, adding copper powder to the wire core and electromagnetic densification of wire core. The large part of work reported here focuses on the latter method applied to the relatively low-density MgB2/Cu wire core. The packing density of unreacted, monofilament wire core was increased by 8 % with oscillating magnetic pressure, reaching a peak value above 700 MPa as calculated by finite element modelling of the forming process. The higher density of the MgB2 core combined with copper powder addition resulted in a critical current density increase of more than fivefold in comparison to purely stoichiometric and cold-drawn-only wire.PUBLISHEDpeer-reviewe