Renewable Energy Storage, Italy
Supporting an innovative new battery technology
Energy storage is a major challenge for many renewable energy producers. Because the sun does not always shine and the wind does not always blow, a reserve of energy is necessary to fill occasional gaps in the grid.
Italian company Energy Dome has created a groundbreaking solution for this issue using a battery powered by carbon dioxide. The technology is currently in use at Energy Dome’s first operational commercial plant, in Sardinia, Italy.
How it works
Energy Dome’s battery relies on transformingCO2 from its gaseous to liquid state and vice versa. When operating in charge mode, theCO2 is withdrawn from a huge expandable gasholder – the dome – and compressed. The heat generated from the compression is extracted and stored in a Thermal Energy Storage system, while theCO2 is liquefied and stored in vessels under pressure at ambient temperature, with zero atmospheric emissions.
In discharge mode – whenever energy is needed by the grid – the CO2 is heated, evaporated and sent into an expander before flowing back into the dome, where it is stored at ambient temperature and pressure for later re-use. During the process, the expander drives a generator to feed carbon-neutral electricity to the grid. The battery returns 75% of the energy it absorbs during its charge and there is no degradation during its 30-year life.
The technology is cost-effective, flexible, proven and durable, and uses off-the-shelf components made of eco-friendly materials.
A competitive cooling solution
Cooling is crucial for the Energy Dome process, as it is essential that theCO2 does not overheat. The company commissioned Güntner to supply the main components of its cooling system for the Sardinia project.
This is a crucial project in CO2 battery technology, demonstrating the operation at commercial scale. Following the commercial tender, Güntner proved to be the most competitive solution in terms of both performance and cost.
In the early phases of the project, Güntner experts carried out function and performance tests at an independent laboratory together with the Energy Dome team to show that its cooling solution would be effective in a wide range of conditions.
“Because Energy Dome’s application is a new, innovative concept and moving to an industrial scale, it was important to prove that our units could deliver what we promised,” says Oliver Bröldiek, Business Development Manager, Güntner Europe. “We did extensive simulations of different operation points so that an efficient set-up of the cooling plant could be integrated into Energy Dome’s system.”
The cooling plant utilizes four Güntner V-shape VARIO Max Dry Coolers – the largest versions of the unit available. These are controlled using the Güntner aicoreTM air controller.
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“The temperature and cooling loads can vary across a wide range during the day-to-day operation of the plant,” says Stefano Vidal, Area Manager South Europe, Güntner. “Being able to cover a temperature peak for a limited time with a rapid ramp-up is a major benefit of theaicoreTM controller.”