Cement energy storage power station

What is concrete energy storage?

Now it is being developed for a new purpose: cost-effective, large-scale energy storage. EPRI and storage developer Storworks Power are examining a technology that uses concrete to store energy generated by thermal power plants (fossil, nuclear, and concentrating solar ).

Can concrete store energy from thermal power plants?

EPRI and storage developer Storworks Power are examining a technology that uses concrete to store energy generated by thermal power plants (fossil, nuclear, and concentrating solar ). Recent laboratory tests validated a Storworks Power design, setting the stage for a pilot-scale demonstration at an operating coal-fired power plant.

How does concrete thermal energy storage work?

With concrete thermal energy storage, large concrete blocks are stacked in a location adjacent to a thermal power plant. When the plant’s power output is not needed by the grid, its steam is redirected from the plant’s turbines to tubes embedded in the blocks, storing the steam’s heat in the concrete.

How much storage can a concrete system provide?

“With heat losses of about 1 percent per day, concrete systems can potentially provide several days of storage, which is what’s needed in wind- and solar-dominated energy markets. That’s well above the four hours of storage possible with today’s grid-scale battery storage systems.

Can cheap concrete be used for energy storage?

Using readily available, cheap concrete can potentially enable energy storage at capital costs of less than $100 per kilowatt-hour—well below the capital costs of lithium ion batteries.

Could low-emissions cement and energy-storing concrete be the future?

Projects such as low-emissions cement and energy-storing concrete raise the prospect of a future where our offices, roads and homes play a significant part in a world powered by clean energy. --