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Energy Storage and Transport
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Atlantis Brief
Energy storage is usually cited as one of the drawbacks to clean energy distribution. However there are many efficient and viable solutions that are
already in practice around the world.
- The most common types of clean energy storage; Pumped Hydro, Electrochemical (Batteries) and Molten Salt (Thermal Storage)
- Pumped Hydro is by far the most common technology currently being used for energy storage (92.6% of global storage capacity)
- CSP thermal energy plants use thermal insulated storage to be able to supply energy on demand at any time
- Hydrogen is the ultimate solution for both storage and transport of energy
- Hydrogen can be stored for long periods as a liquid or a compressed gas, then transported by pipeline or by land
Energy can be genertaed and stored for short or long term as required. With these energy storage and trasport solutions there is nothing stopping the
expansion of clean energy
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Indepth Study
An Introduction
In addition to being cheap, one of the biggest reasons we currently rely on fossil fuels is because of the fact they are so easy to store and transport. When it comes to fossil fuels the energy is stored in the fuels original state as either a solid (coal), liquid (oil), or gas (natural gas).
Furthermore, over the last century, we have built millions of kilometres of pipelines and railroads, as well as a wide range of facilities, exclusively for transportation and storage of these fossil fuels.
Most clean energy, on the other hand, must be converted directly into electricity or heat and therefore cannot be naturally stored or transported like fossil fuels. In the end, this means that if we really want to make a full transition to clean energy, we need to think carefully about (and invest in) technologies for storage and transportation of these clean energies.
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Types of Storage
According to The China Energy Storage Alliance, the most common types of energy storage worldwide are:
- Pumped Hydro
- Electrochemical (Batteries)
- Molten Salt (Thermal Storage)
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| Pumped Hydro Storage in Raccoon Mountain: Funkjoker23/WikiMedia Public domain [2] |
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Pumped Hydro is by far the most common technology currently being used for energy storage (92.6% of global storage capacity). The method utilizes two
water reservoirs at different elevations to generate electricity. During periods of high electrical demand, the stored water in the higher reservoir
is released through turbines to produce electric power. Subsequently, during off-peak hours (when electric power is cheaper), the water is pumped back
up to the higher reservoir.
This solution is good for using hydropower to produce electricity, but it will not help us when it comes to storage and transportation of other clean
energies such as solar and wind.
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Batteries are another option currently being used to store electricity during off-peak hours. In theory they can be used to store clean electricity
from sources like wind and solar. However, most types of batteries are only suited for small-scale, short-term energy storage systems.
Most storage facilities that are currently using lithium-ion batteries for example, provide only enough energy to shore up the local grid for
approximately four hours or less [4]. Furthermore, although a decent option for short-term grid support, batteries are not very convenient when it
comes to energy transportation.
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| Morocco Pioneers PV with Thermal Storage at 800 MW Midelt CSP Project: SolarPaces [5] |
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Thermal energy storage facilities use temperature to store energy. When energy needs to be stored, rocks, salts, water, or other materials are heated
and kept in insulated environments. When energy needs to be generated, the thermal energy is released by pumping cold water onto the hot rocks, salts,
or hot water in order to produce steam, which spins turbines. Thermal energy storage can also be used to heat and cool buildings directly instead of
generating electricity.
Thermal storage is a great option for clean energy storage because it is already a part of
Concentrated Solar Power systems - Thermal Storage
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Hydrogen
When it comes to the ultimate solution for both energy storage and transport, the potential of hydrogen is limitless:
Hydrogen can be produced from 100% clean sources:
In order to isolate hydrogen, all you need is water and electricity. In theory, if we were to use the excess electricity produced from solar
and wind power plants on sunny and windy days, we would be able to produce 100% clean hydrogen.
Hydrogen can also be stored for long periods as a liquid or compressed gas:
When stored in stationary fuel cells, hydrogen can be utilized as a backup source of power, power for remote locations, distributed power generation
and co-generation.
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Unlike the other storage options mentioned above, hydrogen can be transported directly to end-consumers just like oil and natural gas:
In fact, delivery technology for hydrogen infrastructure is currently available commercially in the U.S. and several other countries. Today, hydrogen
is transported from the point of production to the point of use via pipeline, over the road in cryogenic liquid tanker trucks or gaseous tube trailers,
or by rail or barge.
However, expanding the hydrogen infrastructure to include the residential and industrial sectors would be a very costly endeavour major investments.
Find out more about Hydrogen as the ultimate solution to energy storage and transport
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Data Sources
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+44 20 3514 1012 
