Areas of Interest: DOE Invests Nearly $7.6M to Develop Energy Storage Projects

AOI 1 (Subtopic A): Design Studies for Engineering Scale Prototypes (hydrogen focused)

Reversible SOFC Systems for Energy Storage and Hydrogen Production — Fuel Cell Energy Inc. (Danbury, Connecticut) and partners will complete a feasibility study and technoeconomic analysis for MW-scale deployment of its reversible solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) energy storage technology in combination with hydrogen production as an additional source of revenue or use in a power plant during peak periods.
DOE Funding: $199,999; Non-DOE Funding: $50,000; Total: $249,999

 

Hydrogen Storage for Flexible Fossil Fuel Power Generation: Integration of Underground Hydrogen Storage with Novel Gas Turbine Technology — Gas Technology Institute (Des Plains, Illinois) will complete a conceptual feasibility study for innovative hydrogen energy storage and production as part of an integrated fossil-based power generation system at the University of Illinois. The objective is to advance the commercialization of an energy production system using hydrogen storage (subsurface and above ground) and carbon dioxide sequestration that demonstrates the ramping and dispatch capabilities of traditional electricity generating units powered by natural gas turbines.
DOE Funding: $199,961; Non-DOE Funding: $116,085; Total: $316,046

 

Hydrogen Storage for Load-following and Clean Power: Duct-Firing of Hydrogen to Improve the Capacity Factor of NGCC — Gas Technology Institute (Des Plains, Illinois) will demonstrate technology to store greater than 150 MWh of energy as “blue” hydrogen and its use for load-following in an existing natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) plant with a hydrogen-fired duct burner. Hydrogen storage and discharge rates will be coupled to follow daily power demand fluctuations from variable renewable energy, thus increasing the plant capacity factor while reducing emissions. Objectives include establishing a project plan to conduct a preliminary front end engineering design study at an NGCC plant owned by Southern Company.

DOE Funding: $199,931; Non-DOE Funding: $91,064; Total: $290,995

 

Integrated Hydrogen Energy Storage System (IHESS) for Power Generation — Gas Technology Institute (Des Plains, Illinois) will lead a project team to determine the economic and technical feasibility of providing hydrogen energy storage and delivery to natural gas-based combined heat and power generation plants for blending in natural gas fuel streams for electricity production using an IHESS. The system comprises hydrogen production, transportation and storage assets, a blending module or apparatus, existing natural gas supply networks, and an on-site power generation facility with blended hydrogen/natural gas compatible turbines.

DOE Funding: $200,000; Non-DOE Funding: $50,000; Total: $250,000

 

Clemson Hydrogen Combined Heat and Power Storage System — Siemens Energy Inc. (Orlando, Florida) will work toward energy storage integration with Clemson University’s combined heat and power facility located in Clemson, South Carolina. Siemens and project partners will complete a conceptual study to develop an advanced hydrogen energy storage system for a greater than 50-MWh hydrogen energy storage system. The proposed system would be designed and sized to ensure adequate supply for daily and or seasonal demand, as well as provide key grid support functions as an active electricity generating unit.

DOE Funding: $199,874; Non-DOE Funding: $74,980; Total: $274,854

 

Hydrogen Energy Storage Integrated with a Combined Cycle Plant — Siemens Energy Inc. (Orlando, Florida) and partner will develop a concept design of a hydrogen energy storage system integrated into an advanced class combined cycle power plant (CCPP). The goal is to maximize efficiency and reliability of the CCPP, mitigating inefficient or off-design operation by complementing it with the dynamic response characteristics of a hydrogen energy storage system.
DOE Funding: $200,000; Non-DOE Funding: $69,193; Total: $269,193

 

Hydrogen-Based Energy Storage System for Integration with Dispatchable Power Generator, Phase I Feasibility Study — University of California, Irvine (Irvine, California) researchers will seek to advance the capability of an existing fossil asset serving the campus microgrid to store energy in the form of hydrogen produced through electrolytic or micro steam [JB1] methane reformation and to consume hydrogen as fuel with the production and use cycles optimized based on market, operational and demand conditions. The project has the potential to establish the capability for the gas turbine to operate on high-hydrogen-fraction natural gas/hydrogen blends and to dynamically vary the hydrogen fraction to optimize economic and operational dispatch.

DOE Funding: $200,000; Non-DOE Funding: $85,000; Total: $285,000

 

H-2-SALT: Storing Fossil Energy as Hydrogen in Salt Caverns — University of Kansas Center for Research Inc. (Lawrence, Kansas) will assess the feasibility of storing excess energy from a natural gas power plant as hydrogen in an underground salt cavern. The proposed technology concept will leverage an electrolyzer to produce hydrogen from excess power at a natural gas combined cycle power plant for storage in a salt cavern below the electricity generating unit.
DOE Funding: $200,000; Non-DOE Funding: $50,000; Total: $250,000

 

Economically Viable Intermediate to Long Duration Hydrogen Energy Storage Solutions for Fossil Fueled Assets — WE New Energy Inc. (Knoxville, Tennessee) and partners will design and engineer a cost-effective hydrogen energy storage prototype to synergistically integrate with existing or new coal- and gas-fueled electricity generating units (EGUs). A synergistically integrated hydrogen energy storage system would enable EGUs to operate at optimal baseload conditions via a sufficiently large hydrogen energy storage system to manage the dynamic changes in electric grid demand and electricity price.

DOE Funding: $200,000; Non-DOE Funding: $100,000; Total: $300,000
 

AOI 1 (Subtopic B): Design Studies for Engineering Scale Prototypes (non-hydrogen focused)

 

Liquid Salt Combined-Cycle Pilot Plant Design — Electric Power Research Institute Inc. (Charlotte, North Carolina) will perform a feasibility study to integrate a pilot scale liquid salt combined-cycle (LSCC) design into a gas turbine environment, evaluate system responsiveness in a real-time operating environment, and estimate the costs. Southern Company’s Plant Rowan in North Carolina has been selected for this study. The system combines two-tank molten salt storage with electric heating and a molten salt steam generator in a system integrated with gas turbine exhaust gas.

DOE Funding: $199,732; Non-DOE Funding: $49,932; Total: $249,664
 

Modular, Crushed-Rock Thermal Energy Storage Pilot Design — Electric Power Research Institute Inc. (Palo Alto, California) and partners will perform a feasibility study to integrate a bGenTM system with the New York Power Authority’s Zeltmann natural gas-fired power plant. The bGenTM technology is a modular crushed-rock thermal energy system that can be charged from both thermal and electrical inputs, and can output steam, hot water, or hot air. The main patented technology is for high-temperature energy storage based on crushed rocks.

DOE Funding: $200,000; Non-DOE Funding: $50,000; Total: $250,000

 

Sand Thermal Energy Storage (SandTES) Pilot Design — Electric Power Research Institute Inc. (Palo Alto, California) and partners will perform a feasibility study on the integration of a SandTES system into Alabama Power’s Plant Gaston. SandTES is a high-temperature TES technology operated with sand (quartz or silica) as the storage medium. The core of the system is a particle/fluid heat exchanger in which a dense-particle suspension is fluidized by air. As a heat transfer material, sand offers widespread availability, low cost, high thermal capacity, temperature flexibility, and cyclic stability.
DOE Funding: $199,999; Non-DOE Funding: $50,000; Total: $249,999

 

Low Cost Sulfur Thermal Storage for Increased Flexibility and Improved Economics of Fossil-Fueled Electricity Generation Units — Element 16 Technologies Inc. (Glendale, California) will undertake a feasibility study of molten sulfur thermal energy storage (TES) integrated with fossil fuel assets. Advisian (Worley Group) will provide power plant operations and engineering expertise. The TES design configuration involves heat transfer fluid (HTF) tubes located within a sulfur bath. High pressure steam from the power plant will heat an intermediate low-pressure and non-corrosive HTF in a heat exchanger, which is pumped through the HTF tubes for heat storage in molten sulfur. During discharge, heat is retrieved from the sulfur by the HTF to generate steam or preheat feedwater.

DOE Funding: $200,000; Non-DOE Funding: $50,000; Total: $250,000

 

Combined Cycle Integrated Renewable Energy Storage (CiRES) — Siemens Energy Inc. (Orlando, Florida) will conduct a study to prove the technical and economic feasibility of integrating a CiRES system to store electricity as thermal energy into an existing gas-fired combined cycle power plant. A secondary objective is to use the stored thermal energy to increase the flexibility of the combined cycle power plant by prewarming the heat recovery steam generator during plant start preparation. The CiRES system uses a thermal energy storage core with a pebble bed of inexpensive solid material with excellent thermal properties and durability.

DOE Funding: $199,842; Non-DOE Funding: $50,000; Total: $249,842
 

Integration of Pumped Heat Energy Storage with Fossil-Fired Power Plant — Southwest Research Institute (San Antonio, Texas) will complete a feasibility study for integrating a Malta Pumped Heat Energy Storage (MPHES) system with one or more full-sized fossil-fired electricity generation units (EGUs). MPHES is a long-duration, molten salt energy storage technology that uses turbomachinery and heat exchangers to transfer energy to a thermal storage media when charging and removes the heat in a similar fashion when discharging.
DOE Funding: $199,875; Non-DOE Funding: $50,125; Total: $250,000

 

Energy-Storing Cryogenic Carbon Capture for Utility- and Industrial-Scale Processes — Sustainable Energy Solutions (Orem, Utah) will perform a quantitative assessment of its Cryogenic Carbon CaptureTM (CCC) technology to provide a minimum of 10 MWh of energy storage. The technology stores energy in the form of refrigerant when energy costs are low or power is plentiful and recovers energy by drawing on stored refrigerant when energy costs are high or power is scarce. The project will include analyses of costs, fuel prices, and renewables penetration based on a specific site, which is expected to be the Naughton Power Station in Wyoming.

DOE Funding: $199,500; Non-DOE Funding: $50,000; Total: $249,500

 

Illinois Compressed Air Energy Storage — University of Illinois (Champaign, Illinois) will conduct a conceptual design study to capture and store compressed air in the subsurface at the Abbott Power Plant on the Urbana-Champaign campus. The project team proposes design of an integrated system to store both the compressed air and the thermal heat generated by compression in the subsurface. Compressed air and stored thermal heat could then be recovered to power turbines when additional electricity is needed during sustained interruptions due to weather events or fossil fuel disruptions.

DOE Funding: $200,000; Non-DOE Funding: $50,597; Total: $250,597

 

Natural Gas-Based Energy Storage at Abbott Power Plant — University of Illinois (Champaign, Illinois) will conduct a conceptual design study for integrating a 10-MWh compressed natural gas energy storage (CNGES) system with the Abbott Combined Heat and Power Plant at the Urbana-Champaign campus. CNGES technology is analogous to commercial compressed air energy storage except natural gas is compressed during off-peak hours and discharged during peak hours. Co-locating energy storage with the plant will improve the short- and long-term reliability of electric power as the use of variable renewable power increases.

DOE Funding: $199,979; Non-DOE Funding: $50,021; Total: $250,000

 

AOI 2 (Subtopic A): Component-level Research and Development (hydrogen focused)

                                                                              

Advanced Hydrogen Compressor for Hydrogen Storage Integrated with a Power Plant — Siemens Energy Inc. (Orlando, Florida) will focus on an advanced compressor concept that significantly reduces the number of stages required for cost-effective hydrogen compression and storage. The project will include progressing the design of the compressor, manufacturing a prototype, and testing it to verify its performance in relevant operating conditions. Testing will aim to provide validation of the efficiency and operating range and advance the technology.
DOE Funding: $500,000; Non-DOE Funding: $919,700; Total: $1,419,000

 

Development of an Advanced Hydrogen Energy Storage System Using Aerogel in a Cryogenic Flux Capacitor — Southwest Research Institute (San Antonio, Texas), along with partners, will study a high-density cryogenic flux capacitor (CFC) for hydrogen energy storage. CFC modules can accept gaseous hydrogen at ambient conditions, such as from an electrolyzer, and “charge up” over time. On the discharge step, controlling heat input into a CFC storage cell can pressurize the system and regulate the flow of hydrogen gas as it is released.
DOE Funding: $500,000; Non-DOE Funding: $125,000; Total: $625,000
 

Advanced Oxygen-Free Electrolyzer for Ultra-Low-Cost H2 Storage for Fossil Plants — T2M Global LLC (Danbury, Connecticut) will develop advanced oxygen-free electrolyzer technology for low-cost, long-duration hydrogen energy storage for fossil fuel plants. The proposed technology would upgrade stranded fossil assets (waste syngas streams, excess electricity, and waste heat) to a higher-value pure hydrogen for additional revenue and greater sustainability. The technology also will reduce greenhouse gas and generate additional revenue from stranded/underutilized resources.

DOE Funding: $500,000; Non-DOE Funding: $230,000; Total: $730,000

 

Durable Low-Cost Pressure Vessels for Bulk Hydrogen Storage — WireTough Cylinders LLC (Bristol, Virginia) will complete a near full-scale demonstration model of its patented technology for low-cost, durable, and damage-resistant cylinders to store hydrogen for hydrogen fueling stations and to be optimized for use in fossil-fueled power plants. A liner for the model vessel will be manufactured, and a detailed design analysis of the wire-wrapped cylinder will be performed.

DOE Funding: $500,000; Non-DOE Funding: $134,960; Total: $634,960

 

AOI 2 (Subtopic B): Component-level Research and Development (non-hydrogen focused)

 

Titanium-Cerium Electrode-Decoupled Redox Flow Batteries Integrated with Fossil Fuel Assets for Load-Following, Long-Duration Energy Storage — Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri) and will advance the integration of a titanium-cerium electrode-decoupled redox flow battery (RFB) system with conventional fossil-fueled power plants through detailed technical and economic system-level studies and component scale-up. Cost and performance data from the RFB scale-up efforts will be incorporated into a detailed assessment of this storage technology integrated within the fence lines of a fossil-fueled power plant to reveal the potential benefits of co-location to asset owners, the grid and the public. The assessment will consider plants powered with natural gas and pulverized coal, with and without carbon capture.
DOE Funding: $500,000; Non-DOE Funding: $125,615; Total: $625,615

AOI 3 (Subtopic A): Innovative Concepts and Technologies (hydrogen focused)

Scalable Boron Nitride-Based Sorbents with Balanced Capacity-Kinetics-Thermodynamics for Hydrogen Storage in Fossil Fuel Power Plants — C-Crete Technologies (Stafford, Texas) seeks to demonstrate the feasibility of a new class of scalable, low-cost sorbents with a balance of capacity-kinetics-thermodynamics for hydrogen storage and integration with fossil fuel power plants. The core fabrication of the sorbent leverages the unique properties of emerging nanomaterials, followed by strategic coupling with functional groups and dopants to optimize porosity and deliver a stable, long-term energy storage solution for the grid.
DOE Funding: $250,000; Non-DOE Funding: $62,500; Total: $312,500

Repurposing Fossil-Fueled Assets for Energy Storage — Malta Inc. (Cambridge, Massachusetts) will perform a study on repurposing coal-fired electricity generation units (CF-EGU) considered for retirement into long-duration energy storage systems. The project will evaluate the feasibility of integrating a 1,000-MWh Malta Pumped Heat Energy Storage (MPHES) system, a long-duration, molten salt energy storage technology, with retiring CF-EGUs. The project will focus on modeling the reuse of existing CF-EGU equipment to construct an integrated MPHES system to store generated energy and validating the modeling results and partner-provided data sets.
DOE Funding: $249,867; Non-DOE Funding: $62,636; Total: $312,503

 

Development of an All-Aqueous Thermally Regenerative Redox Flow Battery to Support Fossil Fuel Assets — Pennsylvania State University (University Park, Pennsylvania) will develop a novel all-copper thermally regenerative redox flow battery (TRB) as an integration option for fossil fuel assets that can be recharged with either excess electricity or low-grade thermal energy. Penn State will conduct a numerical modeling study via a multi-physics computational program to examine the impact of flow cell design and electrode and membrane materials on battery performance.
DOE Funding: $250,000; Non-DOE Funding: $62,881; Total: $312,881

 

Liquid Air Combined Cycle for Power and Storage — Southwest Research Institute (San Antonio, Texas) will perform market analysis, cycle modeling and optimization studies, component specification and technology gap analysis, and technoeconomic trade studies for variations of combustion turbine (CT) cycles augmented with liquid air energy storage (LAES). The study will focus on Pintail Power’s patent-pending Liquid Air Combined CycleTM (LACC) and will result in the conceptual design and specification of a commercial-scale LACC system. During the charging process, air is drawn from the atmosphere, filtered and cooled to liquid phase (via cryogenic system) for storage in tanks. Discharging involves pressurizing and re-gasifying the liquid air using exhaust heat from the CT as well as heat absorbed from CT inlet air.
DOE Funding: $250,000; Non-DOE Funding: $69,120; Total: $319,120
 

Ammonia-Based Energy Storage Technology (NH3-BEST) — University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center (Grand Forks, North Dakota) and project partners plan to integrate an ammonia-based energy storage technology (NH3-BEST) concept that comprises electrolytic ammonia production, storage, and conversion to electricity via a direct ammonia fuel cell with an electric generating unit. The concept will modify a low-pressure electrolytic ammonia process initiated by the center to incorporate electrolysis. Ammonia’s unique properties, high hydrogen content, low-cost/small-footprint storage, and near-zero explosivity hazard renders it a potentially viable energy storage option for deployment at coal-fired power plants.
DOE Funding: $250,000; Non-DOE Funding: $112,500; Total: $362,500

 

Reversible Methane Electrochemical Reactors as Efficient Energy Storage for Fossil Power Generation — University of Oklahoma (Norman, Oklahoma) will conduct research on the integration of reversible methane (CH4) electrochemical reactors as an efficient energy storage technology in fossil fuel power plants. Protonic ceramic electrochemical reactors (PCERs) integrated with a fossil asset offer efficient energy storage by operating and switching between fuel cell and electrolyzing modes. This technology will explore the feasibility of capturing CO2 gas from fossil power plants (using a carbon capture system) and converting it to CH4 gas which can be stored in tanks, injected into a natural gas pipeline, or immediately used as feedstock. In fuel cell mode (power generation mode), the chemical energy in the CH4-rich supply gas would be converted to electrical energy as the fuel flows from the fuel tanks through the cell stack. In electrolyzing mode (fuel production mode), the polarity of the cell will switch as surplus electrical energy from the fossil power plant is supplied to the stack.

DOE Funding: $250,000; Non-DOE Funding: $62,504; Total: $312,504