Authors: F. Botha, W. Le Roux
Year: 2025
Industry: Fossil Fuel Power Generation
Keywords: Use FSE, Transient, Dynamic, Loss of Coolant, Comparison, TES
ABSTRACT
Long-duration energy storage (LDES) is essential for efficiently harnessing renew-able energy. While electrochemical energy storage technologies have been increasingly deployed, they often face challenges due to high costs and limited mineral resources. Thermal Energy Storage (TES) offers a promising, cost-effective, and location-independent solution for LDES by storing energy as heat in inexpensive materials. A dynamic TES simulation tool within Flownex was developed to predict the TES outlet temperature for varying inlet conditions within a typical combined heat and power (CHP) system. The application of the dynamic TES model was demonstrated by successfully simulating the transient behavior of a gas turbine cogeneration system for a 950°C gas turbine inlet temperature and ~18h TES energy storage duration. The model was used to evaluate the economic viability of a TES gas turbine cogeneration system compared to a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery system for delivering the same output. An economic comparison over a 30-year project lifespan highlights the advantages of TES for LDES.