High temperature liquid metal energy storage

What are liquid metal thermal energy storage systems?

Liquid metal thermal energy storage systems are capable of storing heat with a wide temperature range and have, thus, been investigated for liquid metal-based CSP systems 3, 4 and in the recent past also been proposed for industrial processes with high temperature process heat. 5

What is high-temperature heat storage with liquid metals?

High-temperature heat storage with liquid metals can contribute to provide reliable industrial process heat >500°C from renewable (excess) electricity via power-to-heat processes. Liquid metals can also be used to efficiently transport high-temperature waste heat from high-temperature industrial processes to a heat storage medium for later use.

Can liquid metals be used as heat transfer fluids in thermal energy storage?

The use of liquid metals as heat transfer fluids in thermal energy storage systems enables high heat transfer rates and a large operating temperature range (100°C to >700°C, depending on the liquid metal). Hence, different heat storage solutions have been proposed in the literature, which are summarized in this perspective.

Which liquid metals can be used in thermal energy storage systems?

Based on their liquid temperature range, their material costs and thermophysical data, Na, LBE, Pb, and Sn are the most promising liquid metals for the use in thermal energy storage systems and evaluations in section 4 will focus on these four metals.

Can liquid metal be used as a heat storage medium?

The perspective is focused on thermal energy storage systems using liquid metal as heat transfer fluids, but not necessarily as heat storage medium. For the latter, the interested reader is referred to several reviews available on latent heat storage systems using liquid metal as a phase change material. 6, 7

Which liquid temperature range is applicable to high-temperature heat storage?

Table 1 presents the liquid temperature ranges from melting to boiling temperature of selected liquid metals. In order to be applicable to high-temperature heat storage, the selection criteria are a maximum melting point of 400°C, a minimum boiling point of 700°C and existing operating experience.