Ruya Isam 2019 4th fuel and energy
Chapter Seven:
Energy storage
Energy storage is the capture of energy produced at one time for use at a
later time. A device that stores energy is generally called an accumulator
or battery. Energy comes in multiple forms including radiation, chemical,
gravitational potential, electrical potential, electricity, elevated
temperature, latent heat and kinetic. Energy storage involves converting
energy from forms that are difficult to store to more conveniently or
economically storable forms. Some technologies provide short-term
energy storage, while others can endure for much longer.
Common examples of energy storage are the rechargeable battery, which
stores chemical energy readily convertible to electricity to operate a
mobile phone, the hydroelectric dam, which stores energy in a reservoir
as gravitational potential energy, and ice storage tanks, which store ice
frozen by cheaper energy at night to meet peak daytime demand for
cooling. Fossil fuels such as coal and gasoline store ancient energy
derived from sunlight by organisms that later died, became buried and
over time were then converted into these fuels. Food (which is made by
the same process as fossil fuels) is a form of energy stored in chemical
form.
Forms of Energy
• Energy storage can be in many forms: – Mechanical – rotating,
compressed or elevated substances – Thermal or electrical energy waiting
to be released from chemical bonds – Electrical charge ready to travel
between electrodes.
Ruya Isam 2019 4th fuel and energy
• Storage media that can take and release energy in the form of
electricity is the most valuable (convenient and efficient).
Reasons for Storing Energy
Four main reasons to store energy:
• Utility Shaping is the use of very large capacity storage to answer
electric demand, when a renewable resource is not producing
sufficient generation. An example would be night time delivery of
energy generated by solar thermal plant during the prior day.
• Power quality is the use of very responsive storage devices (capable
of large changes in output over very short timescales) to smooth
power delivery during switching events, outages or plant run-up.
Uninterruptable power supplies (UPS) are an example.
• Distributed grid technologies enable energy generation and storage
at customer locations rather than at a central (utility) facility.
• Automotive applications include battery electric vehicles (EVs),
hybrid electric vehicles, and other applications that require mobile
batteries larger than those in today’s ICE cars.
Energy Storage Device Specifications
• Self- Discharge Time
• Depth of Discharge
• Unit Size
• Efficiency
• Cycle Life
• Energy Density
• Power Density
Ruya Isam 2019 4th fuel and energy
Ragone Chart
A Ragone chart is used for performance comparison of various
energy storing devices. On such a chart the values of energy density
(in Wh/kg) are plotted versus power density (in W/kg). Both axes
are logarithmic, which allows comparing performance of very
different devices.
Fig. 7.1 Ragone Chart
Fuel Energy
• A fuel’s lower heating value (LHV) is the total quantity of sensible
heat released during combustion of a designated quantity of fuel.
• The higher heating value (HHV) is the LHV plus the latent heat
contained in the water vapor resulting in combustion.
Ruya Isam 2019 4th fuel and energy
Batteries
• Any given battery will have a different number of Ah depending
on the discharge rate.
– Faster the discharge lowers the capacity.
• Manufacturers usually specify a capacity along with a discharge
rate (current).
• For example, a battery labelled 100 Ah at 1C rate, has a 100 amp-
hour capacity when discharged over 1 hour, so current is 100 × 1 =
100 A
Lead-acid batteries:
• oldest type of rechargeable battery.
• having the second lowest energy-to-weight ratio (next to the nickel-
iron battery) and a correspondingly low energy-to-volume ratio.
• able to supply high surge currents means that the cells maintain a
relatively large power-to-weight ratio.
• low cost, make them attractive for use in cars to provide the high
current required by automobile starter motors.
Nickel-based batteries
• Ni is lighter than Pb.
• has very good electrochemical properties.
Ruya Isam 2019 4th fuel and energy
• Nickel-cadmium and nickel metal hydride are the main two nickel-
based battery technologies.
Lithium-based batteries
• Li is the lightest of all the metals.
• has a very high thermodynamic voltage.
• very high energy and power density.
• Lithium ion (Li-ion) is a type of rechargeable battery in which a
lithium ion moves between the anode and cathode. The lithium ion
moves from the anode to the cathode during discharge and from the
cathode to the anode when charging. Used extensively for portable
electronics, considered the future for EVs.
Flow batteries
Most secondary batteries use electrodes both as the interface for
gathering and deposition electrons and as the storage site for the
products and reactants associated with the battery’s chemistry.
Flywheels
• store energy in the form of rotational kinetic energy.
• Grid controllers use the ‘spinning reserve’ of rotors to make minor
adjustments to power supply and frequency
Ruya Isam 2019 4th fuel and energy
Pumped Hydro
• a form of hydro power.
• Major advantage: can respond continuously to fluctuations in
demand and sudden surges in demand.
