Project description
Storage solutions for seamless integration of renewable energy sources
Europe faces a pressing challenge in integrating bulky renewable energy sources into its power grid efficiently. The need for long-duration and large-scale energy storage solutions is critical to balance the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources and enhance flexibility in fossil-based power plants. In this context, the EU-funded SCO2OP-TES project pioneers the next generation of power-to-heat-to-power (P2H2P) energy storage, aiming to validate a groundbreaking sCO2 PTES pilot plant. This initiative, driven by a consortium of SMEs, EU RTOs, and industry leaders, seeks to revolutionise the role of industrial waste heat in optimising round-trip efficiency and fostering grid flexibility. Leveraging experiences from EU-funded initiatives, SCO2OP-TES pioneers ‘sCO2 BASED CARNOT BATTERIES’ through Molten Salt TES and sCO2 HEXs.
Objective
SCO2OP-TES project aims to develop and validate up to TRL5 in UNIGE-TP lab the next generation of Power-to-heat-to-power (P2H2P) energy storage able to guarantee long duration and large scale energy storage to facilitate bulky RES integration in EU energy systems as well as to enhance fossil based power plants flexibilization and facilitate grid integration of EU industries. SCO2OP-TES promotes indeed a new paradigm where industrial WH (even at low temperature like 150-200°C) can be used not only to produce power via ORC or sCO2 Cycles, but to operate P2H2P storage systems more efficiently and grid flexibly. The consortium is composed by innovative SMEs and acknowledged EU RTOs, motivated to realize the first sCO2 PTES pilot plant in Europe. Leveraging experiences from previous EU Funded projects (SHARP-sCO2, CO2OLHEAT, SOLARSCO2OL etc.) as well as from acknowledged RTOs (UNIGE, CVR, KTH, POLIMI, CERTH, UoB) and industrial partners (EDPP, EDP-NEW, HERON,), SCO2OP-TES the potential of “sCO2 BASED CARNOT BATTERIES” based on innovative Molten Salt TES (KYOTO, RPOW) and sCO2 HEXs (AL) and turbomachinery (ENOGIA, SIT) targeting to assess the potential benefit of valorising local WH to optimize round-trip-efficiency and reduce TES size/CAPEX while optimizing local grid/power plant flexibility needs. Via its pilot and replication campaign (involving further CCGTs in Greece and Portugal), SCO2OP-TES promotes the role of P2H2P as key enabling long duration/large scale energy storage technology to boost RES integration in EU energy systems. PC-TECO will develop and validate key enabling technologies (HEXs, turbomachinery, TES) and modelling approaches (Dynamics, thermoeconomic, grid flexibility potential assessment) to make EU leader in the field of P2H2P solutions, boosting WH Recovery as well as fostering a storage solution based on rotating-machine and therefore more grid flexible and environmentally friendly if compared to battery or power-to-H2 storage solutions.
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HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation ActionsCoordinator
16126 Genova
Italy