Thermal energy storage, system and method

Abstract

The present invention relates to an energy storage system, the system comprising: at least one fluid input element for inputting at least one fluid, at least 2 thermal storage components configured to control a temperature of the at least one fluid, at least 2 pressure controlling components configured to perform at least one pressure change, and at least one liquefaction module configured to yield at least partially a liquid phase from at least one of the at least one fluid. The present invention also relates to a method for storing energy performed in the system, the method comprising inputting at least one at least one fluid to an energy storage system, controlling a temperature of the at least one fluid, performing at least one pressure change, yielding at least partially a liquid phase from at least one of the at least one fluid, and storing thermal energy.

1 . An energy storage system, the system comprising:
 at least one fluid input element for inputting at least one fluid,
 at least 2 thermal storage components configured to control a temperature of the at least one fluid, 
 at least 2 pressure controlling components configured to perform at least one pressure change, and 
 at least one liquefaction module configured to yield at least partially a liquid phase from at least one of the at least one fluid. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the system is configured to at least one of
 evaporate at least a portion of at least one of the at least one fluid, and   condensate at least a portion of at least one of the at least one fluid,   wherein the system comprises at least one flow direction, wherein the system is configured to reverse at least one of the at least one flow direction.   
     
     
         3 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the system comprises
 at least one fluid output element, wherein at least one of the at least one fluid output element is configured to exhaust at least one of the at least one fluid;   at least one splitting element configured to split a flow of the at least one fluid, and/or split a fluid flow at variable split ratios;   at least one phase separator component configured to separate a liquid phase and/or a gas phase from the at least one fluid,   wherein the at least one of the at least 2 thermal storage components comprises at least one storage configured to store thermal energy, wherein at least one of the at least one phase separator component is configured to supply a gas phase from the at least one fluid to at least one of the at least one liquefaction module; and   at least one of:
 at least one storage tank for cryogenic liquid, wherein one of the at least one storage tank for cryogenic liquid is configured to confine the liquid phase of one of the at least one fluid; 
 at least one impurity removing component configured to remove impurities from the at least one fluid; 
 at least one electrical driving component; 
 at least one control system; 
 at least one of: a sensor, an insulating component, a piping element, a heat exchanger component, a heater, and a filter; 
 at least one auxiliary component; 
 at least one valve, wherein the at least one valve is comprised by at least one of: pressure changing component, thermal storage component, liquefaction module, pump, phase separator, tank for cryogenic liquid, impurities removal component; and 
 at least one of: electrical inverter, wire, transformer, electrical converter. 
   
     
     
         4 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein one of the at least 2 thermal storage components is configured to control the temperature of the at least one fluid, wherein the one of the at least 2 thermal storage components is arranged in series to at least one of the at least 2 pressure controlling components; and
 wherein at least one of:   one of the at least 2 thermal storage components is configured to control the temperature of the at least one fluid, wherein the one of the at least 2 thermal storage component is arranged in series to at least one of the at least one liquefaction module,   one of the at least 2 thermal storage components is configured to control the temperature of the at least one fluid in parallel to at least one component of at least one of the at least one liquefaction module; and   wherein one of the at least 2 thermal storage components is configured to control the temperature of the at least one fluid after one of the at least one splitting element; and   wherein at least one of the at least one liquefaction module is configured to be in fluid communication with   at least one of the at least 2 thermal storage components, and   with at least one of the at least one phase separator.   
     
     
         5 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the system comprises at least one of:
 the system comprising at least 4 thermal storage components, wherein
 at least one of the at least 4 thermal storage components is configured to control the temperature of the at least one fluid after the first pressure controlling component, 
 at least one of the at least 4 thermal storage components is configured to control the temperature of the at least one fluid after the second pressure controlling component, and 
 2 of the at least 4 thermal storage components are arranged in series and configured to control the temperature of the at least one fluid parallel to at least one component of at least one of the at least one liquefaction module; 
 the system being configured to operate 2 consecutive thermal storage components at matched temperature constraint conditions; and 
   the one of the at least one storage tank for cryogenic liquid being arranged in series to at least one of:
 at least one of the at least 2 pressure controlling components, 
 at least one of the at least 2 thermal storage components, 
 at least one of the at least one liquefaction module, 
 one of the at least one phase separator, and 
 wherein one of the at least 2 thermal storage components is configured to control the temperature of the at least one fluid at at least 2 positions in the system. 
   
     
     
         6 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the at least one fluid comprises at least one cryogenic liquid of: air, nitrogen, helium, hydrogen, argon, methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, oxygen, water or any combination thereof;   the at least one of the at least 2 pressure controlling components comprises at least one of: a pump, a compression component, an expansion component, a heater, a heat exchanger component, a fan and a blower; and   wherein the system comprises at least one of:
 the at least one of the at least 2 pressure controlling components being configured to operate reversibly; 
 the system being configured to store heat in at least one of the at least 2 thermal storage components with direct heat exchange; and 
 the at least one fluid comprising at least one first fluid and at least one second fluid, wherein the system is configured to store thermal energy in at least one of the at least 2 thermal storage components, wherein one of the at least 2 thermal storage components is configured to utilize the at least one second fluid, wherein at least one of the at least 2 thermal storage components comprises one of the at least 2 pressure controlling components, configured to control the flow of the at least one second fluid, wherein at least one of the at least 2 thermal storage components comprises at least one heat exchanger component configured to control the thermal energy content of the at least one fluid, wherein at least one of:
 wherein at least one of the at least one second fluid is used at a pressure below the stream of a fluid whose temperature is controlled by one of the least two thermal storage components, at the at least one heat exchanger component, and 
 wherein at least one of the at least one second fluid is used at a pressure above the stream of the fluid whose temperature is controlled by one of the least two thermal storage components at the at least one heat exchanger component. 
 
   
     
     
         7 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of: the first pressure controlling component, and the second pressure controlling component is configured to compress to a pressure above a critical pressure of the at least one fluid; wherein at least one of the at least 2 thermal storage components is configured to at least partially change the phase of at least one of the at least one fluid; wherein one of the at least one splitting element is configured to adjust the splitting ratio to balance the amount of thermal energy content transferred to one of the at least 2 thermal storage components with the thermal energy content available from a liquid phase yielded; wherein the system is configured to expand the at least one fluid; wherein the at least one liquefaction module is configured to increase the liquid yield by means of thermal energy management, wherein the system comprises at least one of:
 the system being configured to store compression heat in at least one of the at least 2 thermal storage components,   one of the at least one liquefaction module being configured to exhaust at least a part of the at least one fluid close to its thermal and mechanical equilibrium with ambient air,   one of the at least one liquefaction module being configured to reduce the thermal energy content of at least portions of the at least one fluid by means of a different portion of the at least one fluid at lower temperature levels, and   the at least one liquefaction module being configured to increase the liquid yield by means of the second expansion;   wherein the system comprises at least one of:   one of the at least 2 pressure controlling components being configured to generate and/or consume mechanical energy,   the system being configured to balance extracted and stored thermal energy within at least one of the at least 2 thermal storage components,   the system being configured to regenerate one of the at least one impurity removing component in the discharging mode,   one of the least one storage tank for cryogenic liquid being configured to increase the pressure of contained liquid,   at least one of the at least 2 pressure controlling components being configured to change a pressure in at least one stage,   one of the at least one splitting element being configured to vary the split ratio between one of the at least 2 thermal storage components and one of the at least one liquefaction module,   one of the at least one liquefaction module is supplied with at least one of the at least one fluid at ambient temperature and elevated pressure, and with at least a portion of the at least one of the at least one fluid, which is at a reduced thermal energy content and an intermediate pressure, wherein the thermal energy content of the portion of the at least one of the at least one fluid is first reduced solely by means of the liquefaction module, wherein the at least one liquefaction module is configured to yield at least partially a liquid phase from the one of the at least one fluid, and   the system being configured to achieve a targeted operating temperature of components by means of at least one of the at least one fluid.   
     
     
         8 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the system comprises at least one of:
 at least one of the at least 2 thermal storage components being configured to control the temperature of the at least one fluid at or close to at least one temperature constraint condition; and   the system being configured to actuate at least 2 of the at least 2 pressure controlling components and at least one of the at least one heat exchanger component to control the temperature of the at least one fluid at/close to at least one temperature constraint condition,   wherein the at least one temperature constraint condition comprises at least one of:   a maximum temperature, wherein the maximum temperature is determined by the temperature of the at least one fluid after compression,   a minimum temperature of one of the at least one fluid in interaction with at least one of the at least 2 thermal storage components,   a minimum temperature of the liquid phase of at least one of the at least one fluid,   a temperature requirement of a component of the system downstream of another component of the system,   a phase transition temperature of the at least one fluid with respect to its pressure level,   a phase transition temperature of the at least one second fluid with respect to its pressure level,   a common intermediate temperature of one of the at least one fluid between two consecutive thermal storage components, wherein the shared intermediate temperature is determined to ensure that the two consecutive thermal storage components reach to a same internal temperature distribution before and after each consecutive charging and discharging of the system for the same time period,   a temperature constraint determined to ensure a continuous heat flow between at least 2 media exchanging heat, wherein the continuous heat flow occurs along the length of a component of the system with either direct or indirect heat exchange,   or any combination thereof.   
     
     
         9 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the system is configured to at least one of: operate in a charging mode, operate in a discharging mode, and to generate and/or consume electrical energy,
 wherein the system is configured to: operate in the charging mode by means of consuming energy, and operate in the discharging mode to generate energy, wherein the charging mode is configured to consume energy to store heat and yield at least partially a liquid phase of at least one of the at least one fluid and wherein the charging mode is configured to consume energy to yield at least partially a liquid phase of at least one of the at least one fluid by changing pressure and enthalpy of at least one of the at least one fluid,
 wherein the discharging mode is configured to consume heat and liquid to generate energy, and wherein the discharging mode is configured to change pressure and enthalpy of at least one of the at least one fluid to generate energy. 
   
     
     
         10 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein at least a part of the system is configured to withstand pressures greater than 1 bar, preferably greater than 10 bar, more preferably greater than 40 bar, most preferably greater than 50 bars, and/or wherein at least a part of the system is configured to withstand pressures lower than 300 bar, preferably lower than 250 bar, more preferably lower than 200 bar; wherein the at least one liquefaction module is configured to yield at least partially a liquid phase from the at least one fluid at a pressure below 25 bar, more preferably below 20 bar, most preferably below 18 bar, and/or wherein the at least one liquefaction module is configured to yield at least partially a liquid phase from the at least one fluid at a pressure above 3 bar, more preferably above 5 bar, most preferably above 10 bar; wherein at least one of:
 at least one of the at least 2 thermal storage components comprises a temperature lower than 273 K, preferably lower than 223 K, preferably lower than 183 K,   at least one of the at least 2 thermal storage components comprises a temperature lower than 150 K, preferably lower than 140 K, more preferably lower than 120 K,   the pressure vessel comprises a pressure between 1 and 37 bar, preferably between 5 and 30 bar, more preferably between 10 and 20 bar,   at least one of the at least one fluid undergoes a total pressure rises of at least 20 bars, preferably at least 30 bars, more preferably at least 40 bars, most preferably at least 55 bars and/or the at least one of the at least one fluid undergoes a total pressure rise of less than 300 bars, preferably less than 150 bars, most preferably less than 100 bars, most preferably less than 70 bars and/or the at least one fluid undergoes a total pressure drop of at least 20 bars, preferably at least 30 bars, more preferably at least 40 bars, most preferably at least 55 bars and/or the at least one fluid undergoes a total pressure drop of less than 300 bars, preferably less than 150 bars, most preferably less than 100 bars, most preferably less than 70 bars; and   wherein at least one of the at least 2 pressure controlling components is configured to yield an outlet temperature T o , wherein the outlet temperature T o  is different from inlet temperature T i  comprising at least one of:   the outlet temperature T o  is at least 100 K above the inlet temperature T i , preferably at least 150 K above the inlet temperature T i , more preferably at least 200 K above the inlet temperature T i ,   the outlet temperature T o  is at most 1500 K above the inlet temperature T i , preferably at most 900 K above the inlet temperature T i , more preferably at most 500 K above the inlet temperature T i ,   the outlet temperature T o  is at least 20 K below the inlet temperature T i , preferably at least 50 K below the inlet temperature T i , more preferably at least 80 K below the inlet temperature T i , and   the outlet temperature T o  is at most 800 K below the inlet temperature T i , preferably at most 500 K below the inlet temperature T i , more preferably at most 300 K below the inlet temperature T i .   
     
     
         11 . A method for storing energy, the method comprising
 inputting at least one fluid to an energy storage system,   controlling a temperature of the at least one fluid,   performing at least one pressure change,   yielding at least partially a liquid phase from at least one of the at least one fluid, and   storing thermal energy.   
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the method comprises at least one of:
 evaporating at least a portion of at least one of the at least one fluid;   condensing at least a portion of at least one of the at least one fluid;   controlling the flow of the at least one fluid and/or wherein the method comprises controlling at least one flow direction of the at least one fluid, wherein the method comprises reversing at least one of the at least one flow direction; and   decreasing the pressure in at least one of the at least one liquefaction module close to the atmospheric pressure to reduce thermal energy content of the at least one fluid and/or decreasing the pressure of the at least one fluid to decrease the thermal energy content of the at least one fluid and/or reducing the thermal energy content of the at least one fluid and/or changing the thermal energy content of the at least one fluid;   wherein the method comprises at least one of:   exhausting at least one of the at least one fluid and/or exhausting at least a part of the at least one fluid close to its thermal and mechanical equilibrium with ambient air;   separating a liquid phase and/or a gas phase from the at least one fluid;   feeding back to the system at least a portion of at least one of the at least one fluid; and   increasing the liquid yield of the at least one liquefaction module by means of thermal energy management,   wherein the energy storage system is according to any of the preceding system claims.   
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the method comprises at least one of:
 controlling the temperature of the at least one fluid, wherein the one of the at least 2 thermal storage component is arranged in series to at least one of the at least one liquefaction module;   controlling the temperature of the at least one fluid before one of the at least one liquefaction module;   controlling the temperature of the at least one fluid after one of the at least one liquefaction module; and   controlling the temperature of the at least one fluid arranged in parallel to at least one component of at least one of the at least one liquefaction module,   wherein the method comprises at least one of:   splitting a flow of the at least one fluid;   at least one splitting of at least one fluid flow at variable split ratios; and   varying the splitting ratio of the fluid flow between one of the at least 2 thermal storage components and one of the at least one liquefaction module, wherein the method comprises controlling the temperature of the at least one fluid after the splitting step; and   wherein the method comprises at least one of:
 adjusting the splitting ratio to balance the amount of thermal energy content transferred to one of the at least 2 thermal storage components with the thermal energy content available from a liquid phase yielded; 
 storing at least one of the at least one fluid in the energy storage system; and 
 confining at least one of the at least one fluid in at least one of at least one storage tank for cryogenic liquid. 
   
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the method comprises: utilizing elevated pressure; compressing the at least one of at least one fluid to a pressure above a critical pressure; storing compression heat in at least one of the at least 2 thermal storage components; expanding the at least one fluid; and at least partially changing the phase of at least one of the at least one fluid in at least one of the at least 2 thermal storage components,
 wherein at least one of:
 the at least one fluid comprises at least one first fluid and at least one second fluid; 
 the method comprises operating a direct heat exchange and/or an indirect heat exchange; 
 the method comprises increasing yield by means of the second expansion; 
 the method comprises controlling the temperature of the at least one fluid at at least 2 positions in the energy storage system; 
 the method comprises storing heat at temperatures above surrounding ambient temperature; 
 the method comprises storing heat at temperatures below surrounding ambient temperature; 
 the method comprises controlling the temperature of the at least one fluid at temperatures above surrounding ambient temperature; 
 the method comprises controlling the temperature of the at least one fluid at temperatures below surrounding ambient temperature; 
 the method comprises controlling the temperature of the at least one fluid at or close to at least one temperature constraint condition; 
 the temperature constraint condition comprises at least one of: 
 a maximum temperature, wherein the maximum temperature is determined by the temperature of the at least one fluid after compression, 
 a minimum temperature of one of the at least one fluid in interaction with at least one of the at least 2 thermal storage components, 
 a minimum temperature of the liquid phase of at least one of the at least one fluid, 
 a temperature requirement of a component of the energy storage system downstream of another component of the energy storage, 
 a phase transition temperature of the at least one fluid with respect to its pressure level, 
 a phase transition temperature of the at least one second fluid with respect to its pressure level, 
 a common intermediate temperature of one of the at least one fluid between two consecutive thermal storage components, wherein the shared intermediate temperature is determined to ensure that the two consecutive thermal storage components reach to a same internal temperature distribution before and after each consecutive charging and discharging of the energy storage system for the same time period, 
 a temperature constraint determined to ensure a continuous heat flow between at least 2 media exchanging heat, wherein the continuous heat flow occurs along the length of a component of the energy storing with either direct or indirect heat exchange, 
 or any combination thereof; 
 the method comprises matching temperature constraint conditions of at least 2 thermal storage components; and 
 wherein the method comprises at least one of: 
 establishing at least one fluid connection between at least 2 components of the system; 
 establishing at least one of the at least one fluid connection between at least one of the at least one liquefaction module with at least one of the at least 2 thermal storage components; 
 establishing at least one of the at least one fluid connection between at least one of the at least one liquefaction module with at least one of the at least one phase separator; 
 balancing extracted and stored thermal energy within at least one of the at least 2 thermal storage components; 
 supplying the at least one liquefaction module solely with at least one of the at least one fluid, wherein the one of the at least one fluid is at ambient temperature and elevated pressure and at least a portion of the at least one of the at least one fluid, which is at a reduced thermal energy content and an intermediate pressure, wherein the method comprises reducing the thermal energy content of the portion of the at least one of the at least one fluid solely by means of the liquefaction module, wherein the method comprises yielding at least partially a liquid phase from the one of at least one fluid by means of the at least one liquefaction module; 
 achieving targeted operating temperature of components of the energy storage system by means of the at least one fluid; 
 heating the at least one fluid; 
 reversibly operating at least one of the at least 2 pressure controlling components; and 
 removing impurities from the at least one fluid. 
   
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the method comprises operating the system in a charging mode and in a discharging mode, wherein the method comprises operating the system
 in the discharging mode to generate energy,   in the charging mode by means of consuming energy;   wherein the charging mode comprises   consuming energy to store heat and yield at least partially a liquid phase of at least one of the at least one fluid,   consuming energy to yield at least partially a liquid phase of at least one of the at least one fluid by changing pressure and enthalpy of at least one of the at least one fluid;   wherein the method comprises   consuming heat and liquid to generate energy while the system is in the discharging mode, and   changing pressure and enthalpy of at least one of the at least one fluid to generate energy while the system is in the discharging mode.