MW-scale fluidized particle-driven CSP prototype demonstration

Project Information

POWDER2POWER

Grant agreement ID: 101122347

DOI

10.3030/101122347

EC signature date 30 August 2023

Start date 1 October 2023

End date 30 September 2027

Funded under

• Climate, Energy and Mobility

Total cost

€ 5 884 369,25

EU contribution

€ 5 273 513,75

Coordinated by

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
France

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - POWDER2POWER (MW-scale fluidized particle-driven CSP prototype demonstration)

Reporting period: 2023-10-01 to 2025-01-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The Powder2Power project aims to demonstrate at the MW-scale (TRL7) the operation of an innovative, cost effective and more reliable complete fluidized particle-driven Concentrated Solar Technology that can be applied for both power and industrial heat production. The prototype to be developed and tested is based on the modification and the improvement of an experimental loop built in the framework of the previous H2020 project Next-CSP. It will include all the components of a commercial plant, a multi-tube fluidized bed solar receiver (2 MWth), an electricity-driven particle superheater (300 kW), a hot store, a particle-to-working fluid cross-flow fluidized bed heat exchanger (2 MWth), a turbine (hybrid Brayton cycle gas turbine, 1.2 MWe), a cold store and a vertical particle transport system (~100 m). It is planned to organize the experimental campaign at the Themis tower (France) during one year. Adding an electricity- driven particle superheater will enable to validate a PV-CSP concept working at 750°C that is expected to result in electricity cost reduction with respect to the state-of-the-art. At utility-scale, this temperature allows to adopt high efficiency conversion cycles, typically 750°C for supercritical CO2 (sCO2) cycles. The expected increase in conversion efficiency (sun to power) of the P2P solution with respect to molten salt technology is in the range 5 to 9% and the cost reduction is 5.4%. (LCOE). The hybrid CSP-PV concept enables to reach 9% in efficiency increase and the CSP-only concept 5%. The proposed approach includes the sustainability assessment in environmental and socio-economic terms. A special attention will be brought to elaborate in a transparent way all documents necessary to ensure replicability, up- scaling and to assist future planning decisions. Nine participants from 6 EU countries constitute the P2P consortium. Five participants are industrial and service companies, and four are public research institutions and universities.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In RP1, the following activities have been started or already finished:
- Determine particle flow properties as a function of temperature
- Determine erosion, attrition and dust emission of particles
- Assessment of particle transport issues at pilot and commercial scale
- Design and construction of the particle conveyance system for the P2P pilot plant
- Design of the particle electrical heater
- Improvement of the solar receiver instrumentation and control system
- Preparation of the installation of power block components at ground level
- Definition of up-scaled integrated P2P power plant layouts, including PV+heaters hybridisation
- Design of a utility-scale heliostat field and solar receiver
- Design of a utility-scale electrical heating system
- Design of a utility-scale sCO2 cycle
- Determination of solar field and receiver operational maps
- Determination of Power block operational maps
- LCOE calculation
- Cost functions and KPI definition
- Environmental Impact Assessment via LCA

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

In RP1, the following progress beyond state of the art has been achieved for Powder2Power technology:
- How to efficiently move hot particles
- How to simulate a CSP hybrid process with hot particles
- Know-how to move hot particles vertically
- Know-how to optimise efficiency and cost of hybrid CSP plans
- Contribution to widespread CSP and particles process technologies to renewable energies and green societies