Energy Storage System Technology Research Articles

A Review of Energy Storage Participation for Ancillary Services in a Microgrid Environment

This paper reviews the energy storage participation for ancillary services in a microgrid (MG) system. The MG is used as a basic empowering solution to combine renewable generators and storage systems distributed to assist several demands proficiently. However, because of unforeseen and sporadic features of renewable energy, innovative tasks rise for the consistent process of MGs. Power management in MGs that contain renewable energy sources (RES) can be improved by energy storage. The energy storage systems (ESSs) have several merits, such as supply and demand balancing, smoothing of RES power generation, enhancing power quality and reliability, and facilitating the ancillary services like voltage and frequency regulation in MG operation. The integration of ESS technology has become a solution to the challenges the power distribution networks face in achieving improved performance. By simplifying a smooth and robust energy balance within the MG, storage devices match energy generation to consumption. MG, and its multidisciplinary portrait of current MG drivers, tasks, real-world applications, and upcoming views are elucidated in this paper.

Hybrid Energy Storage Systems: Concepts, Advantages, and Applications

Energy storage systems (ESSs) are the key to overcoming challenges to achieve the distributed smart energy paradigm and zero-emissions transportation systems. However, the strict requirements are difficult to meet, and in many cases, the best solution is to use a hybrid ESS (HESS), which involves two or more ESS technologies. In this article, a brief overview of the HESS, highlighting its advantages for a wide range of applications, is addressed.

Excellent stability and electrochemical performance of the electrolyte with indium ion for iron–chromium flow battery

Iron–chromium flow battery (ICFB) is one of the most promising technologies for energy storage systems, while the parasitic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) during the negative process remains a critical issue for the long-term operation. To solve this issue, In3+ is firstly used as the additive to improve the stability and performance of ICFB. The results suggest that In3+ not only effectively inhibits the HER but also accelerates the kinetics of Cr3+/Cr2+ and Fe3+/Fe2+ to some extent. More importantly, the ICFB using an optimal concentration of 0.01 M In3+ in the anolyte exhibits an energy efficiency of 77.0% at 200 mA cm−2, and a 36.3% higher capacity retention ratio than that of the pristine anolyte after 140 cycles at 160 mA cm−2. Furthermore, the capacity decay rate is low to 0.16% per cycle during the cycle test, which is much lower than that in the previous studies. Both the enhanced stability and electrochemical performance are attributed to the coupling effect of the inhibited HER and promoted kinetics of Cr3+/Cr2+ after In3+ is introduced. Therefore, In3+ as an anolyte additive can be a promising and cost-effective method to further improve the battery performance of ICFB and promote its engineering application.

Global prospects and challenges of latent heat thermal energy storage: a review

Energy is the driving force for automation, modernization and economic development where the uninterrupted energy supply is one of the major challenges in the modern world. To ensure that energy supply, the world highly depends on the fossil fuels that made the environment vulnerable inducing pollution in it. Latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) systems are very potent to address the environmental issues fostering sustainable development, while being able to provide a secured and uninterrupted power supply at the same time. Renewable energy resources are using widely as sources of energy, but the unreliable and low-density technique of energy storage remains a major challenge. At present, thermal energy storage systems are being used widely because of the greater energy storage densities compared to similar other techniques. This paper overviews the current energy scenarios, environmental impact and the global prospects as well as challenges of LHTES. A review of the technologies can provide a base for strategic energy policy for the next generation of sustainable energy policies and helps policymakers to frame strategies aiming for clean technology and sustainable development. LHTES-based systems are found to be the one of the most suitable technologies for energy storage systems.

Energy management of islanded microgrid by coordinated application of thermal and electrical energy storage systems

SummaryThe installation of an energy storage system (ESS) is vital for the Micrgorid (MG) islanded operation to ensure the maintenance of demand–supply balance. Lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) are among the most commonly used ESS technologies for grid‐based applications, which is used in this paper to constantly maintain the demand–supply balance in a residential MG. For this purpose, a novel frequency‐based energy management scheme is proposed. It uses an LIB ESS to handle the primary frequency control and energy management during peak‐load period, while the dispatchable distributed generators like microturbine and fuel cell supply the base load. The air‐conditioning TCLs consume a significant part of the residential load profile, especially during mid‐summer. Unlike TCLs that instantaneously use their generated cooling thermal energy to control indoor temperatures, the thermal energy storage systems (TESSs) can also store the thermal energy and use it later. In this paper, the TESSs are used instead of TCLs to reduce the power consumption of a residential Microgrid (MG) in islanded mode. By doing this, the required LIBESSs capacity is decreased 70% considerably than the case the TCLs are used for controlling the indoor temperatures. Also, replacing the ACs and EHPs with TESSs results in a 63.7% reduction in the total cost of electrical and thermal storage.

A stochastic cost–benefit analysis framework for allocating energy storage system in distribution network for load leveling

Increasing peak demand, retirement of conventional generation capacity, and high cost of constructing new generation capacity and network reinforcements are the challenges faced by utilities in urban cities. To address the above challenges, this paper proposes a stochastic cost–benefit analysis (CBA) framework, named CBA-LL, for allocating centralized energy storage system (ESS) in distribution network for load leveling. CBA-LL is built on a scenario-based stochastic optimization approach that integrates principal component analysis and k-means clustering for effective probabilistic load modeling. In CBA-LL, a genetic algorithm (GA) based optimization approach is utilized over a multi-year planning horizon for ESS sizing. Within the GA, the optimal operation of ESS for load leveling is determined using fmincon solver of MATLAB with the objective of minimizing load variance. The benefits of integrating ESS in terms of distribution system upgrade cost, distribution energy loss cost, arbitrage benefit, and generation plant upgrade cost are considered. In CBA for ESS allocation, the financial objective chosen is generally maximizing net savings (NS) (also known as net present value (NPV)). However, the limitation of NS objective function is that it does not consider the scale of investment required to achieve the objective. ROI and NS are two important and complimentary criteria in investment decision making. However, to the best of our knowledge, ROI has never been investigated in the literature as a planning objective function for sizing ESS. Hence, in this paper, we investigate maximizing ROI as a planning objective function and compare it with maximizing NS objective function. The proposed CBA-LL approach is implemented on a 33-bus distribution system, and two types of ESS technologies, namely, Li-ion and Vanadium Redox Flow (VRF) are compared. The simulation results demonstrate the complementary nature of NS and ROI objective functions. Furthermore, the simulation results highlight that ROI objective function may be more preferable when there is a lack of investment budget or high opportunity cost of investment. Our analysis suggests that the decision makers (DM) can investigate both NS and ROI objective functions for ESS sizing and then select a solution based on a more informed decision. The comparison of battery technologies demonstrate that the Li-ion battery is significantly superior to the VRF battery for the load leveling application.

A Review of Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Suppression

Lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) are a proven technology for energy storage systems, mobile electronics, power tools, aerospace, automotive and maritime applications. LiBs have attracted interest from academia and industry due to their high power and energy densities compared to other battery technologies. Despite the extensive usage of LiBs, there is a substantial fire risk associated with their use which is a concern, especially when utilised in electric vehicles, aeroplanes, and submarines. This review presents LiB hazards, techniques for mitigating risks, the suppression of LiB fires and identification of shortcomings for future improvement. Water is identified as an efficient cooling and suppressing agent and water mist is considered the most promising technique to extinguish LiB fires. In the initial stages, the present review covers some relevant information regarding the material constitution and configuration of the cell assemblies, and phenomenological evolution of the thermal runaway reactions, which in turn can potentially lead to flaming combustion of cells and battery assemblies. This is followed by short descriptions of various active fire control agents to suppress fires involving LiBs in general, and water as a superior extinguishing medium in particular. In the latter parts of the review, the phenomena associated with water mist suppression of LiB fires are comprehensively reviewed.

Exploring the electrochemical properties of mixed ligand Fe(II) complexes as redox couples

Redox flow batteries are a promising technology for large scale energy storage systems. Although some types of the battery have been commercialized, the narrow working voltage ranges in the aqueous electrolytes limit their further applications. Organic solvents have shown to allow the use of a wider range of redox couples and the idea of non-aqueous redox flow batteries has been proposed. However, the low solubilities and poor electrochemical properties including stability and reversibility of the redox couples in the organic electrolytes remain a significant issue. In this work, a series of heteroleptic (mixed ligand) iron(II) complexes based on a combination of 2,2′-bipyridine, 1,10-phenanthroline and 4,4′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine ligands were synthesized and their chemical and electrochemical properties investigated. For Fe (II) complexes, it was confirmed that ligand equilibration occurs in solution. The electrochemical properties of the complexes were studied by cyclic voltammogram and chronoamperometric methods. The mechanism of the redox processes of these complexes are proposed and how the mixed ligands will affect the redox potentials of the Fe (II) complexes is discussed. Furthermore, we show that the mixed ligand system can improve the total solubility of redox active species. The mixed ligand approach will also be beneficial for designing other new high solubility redox materials for non- aqueous flow batteries.

Highly Reversible Sodium Ion Batteries Enabled by Stable Electrolyte-Electrode Interphases

The sodium ion battery (NIB) is a promising alternative technology for energy storage systems because of the abundance and low cost of sodium in the Earth’s crust. However, the limited cycle life a...

Growth mechanisms of Li dendrite and the suppression strategies

<p indent="0mm">Lithium metal battery (LMB) is widely acknowledged as one of the most promising battery technologies for nextgeneration energy storage systems due to its ultra-high energy density. Unfortunately, the practical application of LMB has been plagued by the uncontrollable growth of Li dendrites during electrochemical cycling, which would not only consume the electrolyte irreversibly and reduce its cycling lifespan, but also cause the internal short-circuit and result in severe safety issues. Aiming to effectively suppress or even eliminate the growth of Li dendrites, a great deal of strategies such as adding electrolyte additives, employing superconcentrated electrolytes, forming artificial solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layers, physical modification of Li anodes and/or designing advanced structured Li anodes have been proposed. Although the cycling performance of LMBs has been significantly improved by above-mentioned approaches, yet their overall performance is still inferior to that of the commercialized lithium ion batteries (LIBs) counterpart. To further enhance the performance of LMBs so as to accelerate their research and development process, an in-depth and comprehensive understanding of the fundamental growing mechanisms of Li dendrites is highly desirable. To shed lights on designing novel strategies to suppress or eliminate the growth of Li dendrites, a comprehensive overview of the current understanding of the growth mechanisms of Li dendrites during electrochemical cycling is provided in the current article. Herein, several models proposed from both theoretical derivation and experimental observation are reviewed to fundamentally illustrate the formation and growth behaviors of Li dendrites. The space-charge model that is proposed to describe Li dendrite nucleation is firstly introduced. In this model, the dendritic Li is formed because of a very large space charge near the electrode surface that is created by the anion depletion during Li ion deposition. The SEI-induced growing model, which illustrates that the cracking/pinholes at the defects of SEI films could cause electrochemical hot spots and triggers the dendritic Li growth, is then presented. In addition, the heterogeneous nucleation and growth model, which considers both the thermodynamic and kinetic conditions to rationalize the nucleation and growth of Li dendrites, is also explained. After that, the surface nucleating and diffusion model, which indicates that lower surface energy and higher migration energy are two important factors for Li dendrite growth on the surface of Li metal, is briefly presented. The following is the tip-induced nucleation model, which states that the Li ion deposition occurs easily on the protrusions of metal tips due to the enhanced electric and ionic fields therein. Finally, the film growth model, which is inspired by the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process, is introduced to explain the underlying growing behaviors of Li dendrites. In addition to these models proposed to illustrate the growing mechanisms of Li dendrites, the corresponding strategies, which are derived from these models and aimed to suppress the growth of Li dendrites, are also concisely presented. This review article ends with an insightful discussion together with some suggestions for future research directions of the Li dendrites. In brief, the current article tends to not only summarize the fundamental understandings regarding the growth mechanisms of Li dendrites but also provide a few instructive suggestions for future research activities of the LMBs.

Electrode materials application and performance for seawater power source

The technologies of energy storage systems have been improvised for years. Most of the technologies being researched are for big-scale applications such as grids systems for domestic and commercial use. The effort is to change our energy consumable pathway to renewable energy with low cost, high efficiency, and abundant resources. But for many reasons, there is not much effort that has been done on a small-scale application. The production and demand for simple batteries are expected to increase, but the common disadvantages are still encountered. Thus, this study focused on the usage of abundant materials as one of the battery components. The integration of cathode and anode material listed from the electrochemical series was studied, and it was able to produce a significant amount of energy output in the form of electricity. The first phase of the experiments was executed by using four chosen materials: copper, zinc, aluminium, and magnesium with different electrode materials combination to produce a different set of battery cells. The best electrode selected from the first phase of this study was magnesium and copper due to the largest voltage output produced by the cell which is 1.43 V. The second phase dealt with the integration of the connection between anode and cathode. The four series and two parallel connections of seawater cell using magnesium and copper as anode and cathode respectively were able to light up three 1.8 V LEDs in parallel interconnection circuits.

Optimal design of an integrated renewable‐storage energy system in a mixed‐use building

The rise of mixed-use buildings contributes to the sustainable development of cities but are still met with challenges in energy management due to the lack of energy efficiency and sustainability guidelines. The use of integrated renewable-storage energy systems is a more beneficial solution to this problem over individual solutions; however, most design studies only focused on single-type buildings. Thus, this study aims to optimally design an integrated energy system for mixed-use buildings using HOMER Grid. The objective is to minimize the net present costs, subject to capacity limits, energy balances, and operational constraints. Economic metrics were used to evaluate and compare the proposed system to the varying design cases such as business-as-usual, stand-alone renewable source, and stand-alone energy storage. The case study considered a mixed-use building in a tropical area, with a solar photovoltaic system as the renewable energy source and lithium-ion battery as the energy storage system technology. The results show that the integrated system is the most financially attractive design case. It has a levelized cost of electricity of 0.1384 US$ kWh−1, which is significantly less than the 0.2580 US$ kWh−1 baseline. The system also provides electricity cost savings of 294 698 US$ y−1, excess electricity of 35 746 kWh, and carbon emission reduction of 550 tons annually for a mixed-use building with daily average consumption of 4557-kWh and 763-kW peak demand.

An extensive review of energy storage system for the residential renewable energy system

Energy storage system (ESS) plays a prominent role in renewable energy (RE) to overcome the intermittent of RE energy condition and improve energy utilization in the power system. However, ESS for residential applications requires specific and different configuration. Hence, this review paper aims to provide information for system builders to decide the best setup configuration of ESS for residential application. In this paper, the aim is to provide an insight into the critical elements of the energy storage technology for residential application. The update on ESS technology, battery chemistry, battery charging, and monitoring system and power inverter technology are reviewed. Then, the operation, the pro, and cons of each variant of these technologies are comprehensively studied. This paper suggested that the ESS for residential ESS requires NMC battery chemistry because it delivers an all-rounded performance as compared to other battery chemistries. The four-stages constant current (FCC) charging technique is recommended because of the fast charging capability and safer than other charging techniques reviewed. Next, the battery management system (BMS) is recommended to adapt in advance machine learning method to estimate the state of charge (SOC), state of health (SOH) and internal temperature (IT) to increase the safety and prolong the lifespan of the batteries. Finally, these recommendations and solutions aimed to improve the utilization of RE energy in power system, especially in residential ESS application and offer the best option that is available on the shelf for the residential ESS application in the future.

Location and Capacity Optimization of Distributed Energy Storage System in Peak-Shaving

The peak-valley characteristic of electrical load brings high cost in power supply coming from the adjustment of generation to maintain the balance between production and demand. Distributed energy storage system (DESS) technology can deal with the challenge very well. However, the number of devices for DESS is much larger than central energy storage system (CESS), which brings challenges for solving the problem of location selection and capacity allocation with large scale. We formulate the charging/discharging model of DESS and economic analysis. Then, we propose a simulation optimization method to determine the locations to equip with DESSs and the storage capacity of each location. The greedy algorithm with Monte Carlo simulation is applied to solve the location and capacity optimization problem of DESS over a large scale. Compared with the global optimal genetic algorithm, the case study conducted on the load data of a district in Beijing validates the efficiency and superiority of our method.

Using Dynamic Thermal Rating and Energy Storage Systems Technologies Simultaneously for Optimal Integration and Utilization of Renewable Energy Sources

Nowadays, optimal integration and utilization of renewable energy sources (RES) are of the most challenging issues in power systems. The wind and solar generation units' maximum production may or may not occur at peak consumption times resulting in non-optimal utilization of these resources. As a solution to this problem, energy storage systems (ESS) are embedded in networks. However, the power transfer from RES to ESS may lead to network congestion. In this paper, the simultaneous application of dynamic thermal rating (DTR) technology and ESS devices is proposed. The DTR is used to overcome the problem of transmission lines limited capacity and ESS is responsible for mitigating curtailment of RESs energy production by saving their generated energy in non-peak hours. The RESs generation and lines’ ratings are calculated based on hourly actual weather elements. For evaluating the proposed method, a linearized formulation of DC-OPF is used in the problem definition and also simulated on a modified IEEE 30-bus test system including a wind farm, solar park, and ESS devices by using MATLAB software. In addition, different comparisons are performed demonstrating the remarkable and better performance of the proposed method compared to previously introduced methods.

ANPC Inverter With Integrated Secondary Bidirectional Dc Port for ESS Connection

This paper proposes a new inverter topology based on the active neutral-point-clamped (ANPC) converter with capability to integrate one energy storage system (ESS) per inverter leg with an independent state of charge control, so that each inverter leg has two dc ports and one ac port. The primary dc port is common to all inverter legs and it is connected to the main power source. The secondary dc port is suitable for ESS connection because of its two-quadrant operation, with bidirectional current capability, so that the ESS can be charged and discharged with regulated current. Integration of a secondary dc port with independent control also allows the use of different ESS technologies for each inverter leg to compose a hybrid ESS. Redundant switching states of the proposed structure are used to balance the energy exchanged between the secondary dc port and the dc bus capacitors. Theoretical propositions were experimentally validated through a 1-kW single-phase inverter with a secondary dc port connected to a 230-V ESS and ac port connected to an LC filter feeding a linear load. Low total harmonic distortion (THD) sinusoidal current is generated at the ac port while charging or discharging the ESS with a constant current.

Business opportunities for grid-integrated energy storage systems in Malaysia based on a real case study

Abstract The electricity generation and maximum demands in many countries are increasing rapidly in the past few decades in tandem with economic growth. A grid-integrated energy storage system (ESS) provides an attractive solution to mitigate the maximum demands. However, many entrepreneurs are not optimistic about the potential business opportunities for grid-integrated energy storage systems especially in developing countries like Malaysia because the technical, financial and environmental benefits of ESS technologies are not evident currently. Therefore, a 400 kW and 667 kWh energy storage system was designed, set up and commissioned at a university building in Malaysia in order to demonstrate the multiple benefits of grid-integrated ESS. The system has proven to generate an annual saving of about USD 3,803.6 in electricity bills. At the same time, the utility company has also achieved the annual savings of USD 21,207.75 and 15.86 tons of CO2 avoidance since the ESS reduces generation cost and helps cut significant cost through deferment of network reinforcements. With a storage cost of only USD 151,000, the customer and utility company can recover the cost within 6 years over the storage lifespan of 11 years. Hence, the grid-integrated ESS presents a good business opportunity for even small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to enter the electricity industry by offering unique energy savings solutions to the customers and utility company which is particularly attractive in countries where there are only a few major electricity providers such as Malaysia to generate more savings to both the customers and utility companies.

Stochastic price based coordinated operation planning of energy storage system and conventional power plant

A generation company (GENCO) which has a conventional power plant (CPP) intends to add an energy storage system (ESS) beside the CPP to increase its flexibility and profitability. For this purpose, a new model is proposed for coordinated operation planning of the CPP and ESS in energy and spinning reserve markets in the presence of a bilateral contract. The proposed model is based on the stochastic price based unit commitment (PBUC) and price based storage commitment (PBSC). The uncertainties of the energy and spinning reserve prices and delivery requests in the spinning reserve market are modeled via scenarios based upon historical data. The proposed model maximizes the profitability of the ESS beside the CPP and encourages the GENCO to invest the ESS. ESS technology options to use beside the CPP are determined by economic assessments. Numerical results show that utilization of ESSs improves the technical operation of CPPs, as well as GENCOs’ profitability.

Numerical and Experimental Study on Operation of Reversible Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Reversible solid oxide cells are considered to be a promising technology for hydrogen-based energy storage systems since the same device can be used to generate electricity, heat and valuable fuels in a highly-efficient manner. The knowledge of the processes and loss mechanisms involved at the electrochemical energy conversion is of special interest for the optimization of such systems as well as for the development of appropriate diagnostic tools. This study focuses on numerical and experimental investigation of losses that occur during the operation of solid oxide cells of commercial size in fuel cell and electrolysis mode with hydrogen and steam, based on which appropriate optimization of their operation can be suggested.

A review of all‐vanadium redox flow battery durability: Degradation mechanisms and mitigation strategies

The all-vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) is emerging as a promising technology for large-scale energy storage systems due to its scalability and flexibility, high round-trip efficiency, long durability, and little environmental impact. As the degradation rate of the VRFB components is relatively low, less attention has been paid in terms of VRFB durability in comparison with studies on performance improvement and cost reduction. This paper reviews publications on performance degradation mechanisms and mitigation strategies for VRFBs in an attempt to achieve a systematic understanding of VRFB durability. Durability studies of individual VRFB components, including electrolyte, membrane, electrode, and bipolar plate, are introduced. Various degradation mechanisms at both cell and component levels are examined. Following these, applicable strategies for mitigating degradation of each component are compiled. In addition, this paper summarizes various diagnostic tools to evaluate component degradation, followed by accelerated stress tests and models for aging prediction that can help reduce the duration and cost associated with real lifetime tests. Finally, future research areas on the degradation and accelerated lifetime testing for VRFBs are proposed.