Periodic Reporting for period 1 - TECSAS (Thermionic Energy Conversion & Storage Applied to Sunlight: Taking Concentrating Solar Power to the next level)
Berichtszeitraum: 2021-03-01 bis 2022-08-31
The target for carbon neutrality is one of the most important objectives for the future Europe that can be met only by finding cost-effective solutions able to exploit the renewable energies. CSP is potentially more effective than PV for the solar energy harvesting. Unfortunately, today this applies only for huge and centralized plant scales (>100 MW capacity), as process economics makes this technology unsustainable at a smaller scale. The solution proposed by TECSAS technology consists of a solid-state scalable and modular hybrid thermionic generator with high efficiency acting as topping cycle of CSP systems, able to increase the overall conversion efficiency at negligible additional production costs, allowing to reduce the CSP plant critical size for economic viability and to increase the product diffusion and market size.
The results of the project showed that the TECSAS solution can boost the commercial competitiveness of smaller size CSP devices. The scale reduction could be hypothesized by establishing two level capacity scales: the first one for industrial application and for small communities focused on power modules of 1 MW capacity, the other one for residential applications with capacity of 50 kW, characterized by a slightly higher but still competitive LCOE (about 2 c€/kWh) than large-scale systems. According to these considerations, the CSP systems can be sustainable and competitive at a residential scale.
Additionally, the demonstration for the first time of a thermionic solar energy converter combined to a thermal storage based on a molten salt reservoir allowed the TECSAS technology to produce instantaneous electricity and store heat, possibly to be fed to a second stage of conversion. This opportunity leads to two different products (completely electrical and electrical/thermal output) to be produced and sold depending on the customer requirement.
The results of the project showed that the TECSAS solution can boost the commercial competitiveness of smaller size CSP devices. The scale reduction could be hypothesized by establishing two level capacity scales: the first one for industrial application and for small communities focused on power modules of 1 MW capacity, the other one for residential applications with capacity of 50 kW, characterized by a slightly higher but still competitive LCOE (about 2 c€/kWh) than large-scale systems. According to these considerations, the CSP systems can be sustainable and competitive at a residential scale.
Additionally, the demonstration for the first time of a thermionic solar energy converter combined to a thermal storage based on a molten salt reservoir allowed the TECSAS technology to produce instantaneous electricity and store heat, possibly to be fed to a second stage of conversion. This opportunity leads to two different products (completely electrical and electrical/thermal output) to be produced and sold depending on the customer requirement.
The TECSAS project focused on the analysis of technological and business feasibility of a CSP system characterized by the integration of the novel hybrid solid-state thermionic-based converter.
From the technological point of view, both modelling and experimental activities have been performed:
1) Development of an analytical model to identify the most significant technical parameters at different operating conditions.
2) Design, fabrication, and testing of a laboratory-scale prototype of the engineered solid-state converter with a thermal storage system based on molten salts.
The technological aspects tackled during the project are strictly correlated to the future economic, social, and environmental outcomes of the TECSAS concept:
1) Identification of the target markets for the technology under development, considering different scenarios and interacting with possible interested stakeholders.
2) Development of a simulation model to calculate the LCOE and the necessary investments at different latitudes to assess the geographical opportunity to invest in TECSAS technology.
3) Release of a business model, a development roadmap and all the economical tools to create a newco based on TECSAS outcomes, with final eco-fin projections about economic and financial forecasts for the next 5 years.
The dissemination and exploitation plan has been also prepared as a function of different future market scenarios. In addition to the conventional dissemination tools (e.g. project website, social media, interviews), resumes of all the deliverables have been released on the project website, with the aim of disseminating the main results to the general public. Scientific papers including the project results are under submission for the publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals as well as invited oral presentations have been performed in the international conferences and fairs. The TECSAS consortium personnel attended EC training courses to extend their know-how on technology validation and product-market fit process and tools.
From the technological point of view, both modelling and experimental activities have been performed:
1) Development of an analytical model to identify the most significant technical parameters at different operating conditions.
2) Design, fabrication, and testing of a laboratory-scale prototype of the engineered solid-state converter with a thermal storage system based on molten salts.
The technological aspects tackled during the project are strictly correlated to the future economic, social, and environmental outcomes of the TECSAS concept:
1) Identification of the target markets for the technology under development, considering different scenarios and interacting with possible interested stakeholders.
2) Development of a simulation model to calculate the LCOE and the necessary investments at different latitudes to assess the geographical opportunity to invest in TECSAS technology.
3) Release of a business model, a development roadmap and all the economical tools to create a newco based on TECSAS outcomes, with final eco-fin projections about economic and financial forecasts for the next 5 years.
The dissemination and exploitation plan has been also prepared as a function of different future market scenarios. In addition to the conventional dissemination tools (e.g. project website, social media, interviews), resumes of all the deliverables have been released on the project website, with the aim of disseminating the main results to the general public. Scientific papers including the project results are under submission for the publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals as well as invited oral presentations have been performed in the international conferences and fairs. The TECSAS consortium personnel attended EC training courses to extend their know-how on technology validation and product-market fit process and tools.
The project execution allowed the consortium to obtain several new elements beyond the state-of-the-art for understanding the technical and business potential of the hybrid thermionic converter in the CSP field.
Specifically, the progress achieved by TECSAS can be resumed in the following points:
• A simulation tool is now available to estimate the realistic conversion efficiency of TECSAS technology as a function of the operating conditions and applications.
• A developed novel thermionic converter/thermal storage prototype setup is installed and ready for further evaluations of new technological advances.
• The developed novel techno-economic analytical model is now functional to estimate LCOE, ROI, and payback period for TECSAS technology as a function of different parameters.
If we consider the market assessment, the analyses carried out during the project demonstrate competitive values of LCOE and high ROI values, with sustainable CAPEX for the different considered solutions. The economic competitiveness of TECSAS lies mainly in the next main factors:
1) high conversion efficiency (35% - 45% depending on the configuration);
2) small active receiver surface compared to the surface of PV;
3) lower occupation of ground space than PV for the same amount of energy produced, due to the higher efficiency, as well as possibility of easily suspending the system from the ground.
4) capability to be easily dismantled and transported to a new area, without the risk of damaging the active part;
5) versatility of the technology, leading to two different products (all electricity, or electricity and heat) to be produced and commercialized depending on the customer application.
TECSAS is a strategic opportunity for the EU industry and can become a new asset for the EU since it is based on a technology which does not use silicon cells (the PV module production is concentrated in Asia, mainly in China, which holds a share of 66% vs 3% of Europe) and it could store part of the energy collected using fused salts, reducing the necessity for batteries, the production of which is again concentrated in Asian countries (mostly China, India, and Japan). Additionally, TECSAS is the ideal concept to provide energy to the underdeveloped energy communities in Southern Europe by exploiting the renewable resources, thus reducing the use of fossil fuels and improving the resilience of the local grid, as well as developing areas currently poorly served by the national electricity grid. Finally, small-scale CSP plants, based on the concept of scalability and modularity, make the technology more socially tolerable, overcoming the societal approval issues occurred in the past for the conventional CSP technology.
The project allowed to identify two possible exploitable aspects:
a. the feasibility of a vertical structure development thanks to the use of an innovative Bi-Axial Fresnel optical concentrating system, make the technology compatible with crop cultivation (e.g. potato, lettuce, or carrot) at the base of the TECSAS module. This is of relevance for smart agriculture, where TECSAS can be used to supply electricity and heat to greenhouses, with smaller occupation area than PV.
b. The high robustness of the TECSAS technology and its capability to manage high radiation fluxes and to operate at high temperature opened up the route towards aerospace applications such as lunar exploration to supply rovers with laser beaming technique.
Specifically, the progress achieved by TECSAS can be resumed in the following points:
• A simulation tool is now available to estimate the realistic conversion efficiency of TECSAS technology as a function of the operating conditions and applications.
• A developed novel thermionic converter/thermal storage prototype setup is installed and ready for further evaluations of new technological advances.
• The developed novel techno-economic analytical model is now functional to estimate LCOE, ROI, and payback period for TECSAS technology as a function of different parameters.
If we consider the market assessment, the analyses carried out during the project demonstrate competitive values of LCOE and high ROI values, with sustainable CAPEX for the different considered solutions. The economic competitiveness of TECSAS lies mainly in the next main factors:
1) high conversion efficiency (35% - 45% depending on the configuration);
2) small active receiver surface compared to the surface of PV;
3) lower occupation of ground space than PV for the same amount of energy produced, due to the higher efficiency, as well as possibility of easily suspending the system from the ground.
4) capability to be easily dismantled and transported to a new area, without the risk of damaging the active part;
5) versatility of the technology, leading to two different products (all electricity, or electricity and heat) to be produced and commercialized depending on the customer application.
TECSAS is a strategic opportunity for the EU industry and can become a new asset for the EU since it is based on a technology which does not use silicon cells (the PV module production is concentrated in Asia, mainly in China, which holds a share of 66% vs 3% of Europe) and it could store part of the energy collected using fused salts, reducing the necessity for batteries, the production of which is again concentrated in Asian countries (mostly China, India, and Japan). Additionally, TECSAS is the ideal concept to provide energy to the underdeveloped energy communities in Southern Europe by exploiting the renewable resources, thus reducing the use of fossil fuels and improving the resilience of the local grid, as well as developing areas currently poorly served by the national electricity grid. Finally, small-scale CSP plants, based on the concept of scalability and modularity, make the technology more socially tolerable, overcoming the societal approval issues occurred in the past for the conventional CSP technology.
The project allowed to identify two possible exploitable aspects:
a. the feasibility of a vertical structure development thanks to the use of an innovative Bi-Axial Fresnel optical concentrating system, make the technology compatible with crop cultivation (e.g. potato, lettuce, or carrot) at the base of the TECSAS module. This is of relevance for smart agriculture, where TECSAS can be used to supply electricity and heat to greenhouses, with smaller occupation area than PV.
b. The high robustness of the TECSAS technology and its capability to manage high radiation fluxes and to operate at high temperature opened up the route towards aerospace applications such as lunar exploration to supply rovers with laser beaming technique.